Bronx Children's Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260579140
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2010, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Bronx, NY, USA
Phone
7186445689
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural History, Natural Science Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,529,009
Expenses
$2,581,726
Assets
$638,666
Liabilities
$476,522

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ARLENE G LEWIS BASCOM CPA (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL RAMIREZ (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PETER SHERMAN (VICE PRESIDENT (THROUGH 7/24))
  • DENISE ADUSEI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DENISE ADUSEI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $176,740 total reported compensation
  • JENELL HORTON (DIR. OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE): $127,019 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bronx children's museum's mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning for children and families regardless of background. We provide a gateway for more than 100,000 children annually to arts, culture, and education through interactive and enriching steam experiences. Through community-driven programs and partnerships, we exhibit possibilities, illuminate pathways, and celebrate diverse cultures to make the magic of childhood come alive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Nature of the bronx - the museum provided in-school steam programming under the umbrella of nature of the bronx. The program was provided to 14 schools and 820 children. The program consisted in-person progams with bxcm educators, supply boxes of materials for each participating teacher and student, and a field trip to a bronx waterway.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.75; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.8% of revenue deployed · 69.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 28 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.