Austin Children's Museum
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742288789
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5124696200
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Children's Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,942,182
- Expenses
- $8,091,058
- Assets
- $11,623,156
- Liabilities
- $7,075,000
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JONELLE BRADSHAW DE HERNANDEZ (PRESIDENT)
- KC BARNER (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- ANDREW BELL (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- ANDREW BELL (CEO): $229,503 total reported compensation
- RACHEL HAMILTON (VP OF GUEST EXPERIENCE): $121,537 total reported compensation
- LESHIA HOOT (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $55,433 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Acm leads the future of play-based steam learning experiences that inspire and equip all children to be confident, creative thinkers
What it reported doing in 2024
Provide educational, play-based steam learning experiences to children and their caregivers through out-of-school-time programming and increase kindergarten readiness through an onsite preschool. During the fiscal year, thinkery discontinued its little thinkers preschool program due to declining enrollment and financial sustainability concerns. The decision allowed the organization to redirect resources toward its core mission of providing steam learning experiences for children and families.
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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 97
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
- Program expense ratio: 79.6%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -16.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 96% of revenue deployed · 79.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $230K · 25 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.