Fargo-moorhead Science Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831068911
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7013640190
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,359,245
Expenses
$360,908
Assets
$5,780,393
Liabilities
$2,523

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JESSIE ROCK (PAST CHAIR/CHAIR/EXECUTIVE DIR): $56,577 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Breaking barriers to ignite the curiosity in all of us.

What it reported doing in 2024

The fargo-moorhead science museum outreach program provides free educational programming to the fm region, which ignites curiosity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (stemm). We engage with community members at free public events and target underserved communities through mobile stemm outreach and strategic community partnerships. In 2024, fmsm provided ninety-seven hours of stem programming across twenty-eight events to 6,878 community members. These programming efforts were supported by eighteen dedicated volunteers committed to bringing free stem outreach to area events. Our programs provide opportunities for hands-on interactions with real science, which makes scientific concepts concrete for participants and can create life-long enthusiasm for science.total outreach volunteer + volunteer board hours: 1,643 hours in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 29
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 4%; rating input score 4
  • Program expense ratio: 54%; rating input score 54
  • Fundraising efficiency: $60.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 93.3%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.02; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 40.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 69.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 59.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 4% of revenue deployed · 54% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $195K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $57K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 4/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.