Asheville Museum of Science

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561342340
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8287751012
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural History, Natural Science Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$946,245
Expenses
$905,731
Assets
$2,426,204
Liabilities
$39,702

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JON NEUMANN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMANDA BRYANT (EXECUTIVE DI): $83,724 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The asheville museum of science (amos) is western North Carolina's home for experiential science learning, discovery, and exploration. Amos strives to spark the imagination and foster lifelong curiosity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Exhibit exploration and play: amos provided 8,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits and an interactive stem lab, offering families safe, engaging spaces for exploration, play, and reconnection following hurricane helene. Informal facilitation by educators and guest experience staff supported multigenerational learning and meaningful engagement. During the year, amos hosted gifts of the galaxy, a meteorite exhibit that allowed visitors to engage directly with rare pieces of our solar system, and sun, earth, universe, a traveling exhibit designed by nasa exploring the relationship between solar activity, earth systems, and climate. These exhibits resonated strongly with visitors in a post-disaster context, reinforcing themes of science, environment, and resilience. Amos also advanced strategic exhibit improvements by relocating the museum shop to the lobby to increase visibility and introducing new content focused on western North Carolina's natural resources, environmental stewardship, and climate consciousness. Planned art-and-science installations, scheduled for completion in 2025, will further strengthen amos's role as a hub for learning, recovery, and long-term community resilience.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.3%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.68; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.6% of revenue deployed · 93.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $848K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.