Fort Bend Children's Discovery Center LLC

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465472437
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7135221138
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Children's Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$871,235
Expenses
$1,229,801
Assets
$1,541,831
Liabilities
$176,550

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

Leadership & pay

46 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

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the fort bend children's discovery center is to transform communities through innovative, child-centered learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

The fort bend children's discovery center (fbcdc) employs credentialled educators who manage five bilingual (english/spanish) exhibit galleries and programming that changes weekly. These exhibits/programs are focused on the development of literacy and engagement in hands-on, inquiry-based investigations of science, technology, engineering, arts/design and math (i.e., the steam disciplines). In fy 2025 fbcdc served 96,857, down 571 from the prior year. In 2025 21% of visitors received free admission via open doors free admission passes distributed to low-income families by community-based partners. At 100+ locations across fort bend county. Outcomes of museum visits are evaluated annually within a process of continuous quality improvement. Visitors mirror fort bend's diversity with an attendance that is 34% anglo, 24% african american, 22% asian american, and 20% hispanic/latino.

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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -41.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 44 of 44 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $952K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $285K · 46 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.