Children's Museum Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742178563
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7135221138
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Children's Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$22,197,493
Expenses
$16,828,267
Assets
$62,273,648
Liabilities
$2,015,483

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

Leadership & pay

53 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON ENDECOTT (PAST BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • JONATHAN SLOAN (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • Rayanne Darensbourg (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rayanne Darensbourg (Chief Executive Officer): $284,997 total reported compensation
  • JULIA LAURETO (Chief Financial Officer): $224,134 total reported compensation
  • CHERYL MCCALLUM (Chief Strategy Officer): $223,929 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 museum transforms communities through innovative, child-centered learning by providing evidence-based parenting, literacy and stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs and exhibits.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Gift Shop - The Gift Shop sells an array of unique, educational toys and games for children aged birth to 12 years old. Merchandise sold includes stimulating science and math products that are related to the visitor's experience in the Museum. Many items are used in the exhibits and programs throughout the Museum. All products relate to the Museum's exhibits and programs. The Cafe - The Cafe offers nutritious food for any time of the day so visitors can enjoy a healthy and affordable meal without having to leave the Museum. S.E.C.R.E.T - A fee-based interactive experience designed to take a child's (8 and over) museum experience to the next level. Using state-of-the art technology, kids report to duty and are assigned a S.E.C.R.E.T. mission. The museum combines radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with hands-on educational elements that encourage problem solving, critical thinking, data analysis, programming and teamwork which helps the visitor to solve puzzles, discover hidden agendas and thwart the villains' schemes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 24.2%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.7; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.3% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 44 of 44 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $13M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $285K · 53 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.