Discovery Center at Water's Edge Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811951957
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Belcamp, MD, USA
Phone
4104177116
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$130,955
Expenses
$452,566
Assets
$928,424
Liabilities
$3,185

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH SNYDER (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CHARLES NIETUBICZ (PRESIDENT)
  • JUDY PINSKY (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH SNYDER (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $45,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A vision for a place where students of all ages explore, play, innovate, and discover.

What it reported doing in 2024

The discovery center at waters edge holds an annual magic of science fair and family festival that features hands-on games, science experiments and competitions, games, and exhibitions designed to spark interest in science, technology, education, and mathematics in children and learners of all ages.

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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -245.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $366K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $45K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.