Discovery Science Center of Orange County
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 330828380
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Ana, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7149135009
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Museum, Museum Activities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $21,458,282
- Expenses
- $17,084,030
- Assets
- $68,134,941
- Liabilities
- $14,890,033
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOE ADAMS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- TINA ROLEWICZ (VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATIO)
- ROSIE LEE (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIO)
- GONZALES ROXANNE (VICE PRESIDENT, EXHIBITS A)
- CHERIE RAYA WHYTE (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING)
Highest reported compensation
- JOE ADAMS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $761,338 total reported compensation
- NANCEE CHRISTIANSON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $319,088 total reported compensation
- LACY WHITE (CHIEF OF STAFF): $262,578 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We inspire and educate young minds through engaging science-based programs and exhibits to create a meaningful impact on the communities we serve.
What it reported doing in 2024
Education outreach - our goal is to complement elementary curriculum with hands on instruction in science and inspire children to pursue further education in science. The education department serves over 350,000 children in the orange county, riverside, san bernadino, san diego, ventura, and los angeles areas.
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 some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 71
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96%; rating input score 96; 30th 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: 20.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.99; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 82% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $14M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $761K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $981K reported
- Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.