Kidspace a Participatory Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953501213
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
6264499144
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's Museums

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,818,909
Expenses
$7,309,686
Assets
$13,656,212
Liabilities
$1,502,301

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LISA CLEMENTS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA CLEMENTS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $271,209 total reported compensation
  • ERIK BERTELLOTTI (CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER): $174,835 total reported compensation
  • JOHN FARRIMOND (CHIEF ADMIN. OFFICER (AS OF 7/2024)): $65,437 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 kidspace children's museum is to nurture the potential of all children through kid-driven experiences, inspiring them to become joyful, active learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

Kidspace children's museum is a nonprofit museum designed to delight and engage children emotionally, intellectually, and physically through joyful kid-driven experiences. We invite all children to play, discover, create, thrive, and to explore the world with curiosity and kindness. Our 3.5-acre outdoor campus features more than 40 interactive exhibits, including the arroyo pequeo, which showcases the native habitat and wildlife of the san gabriel mountains. In 2024, our attendance and community impact continued to soar, with 395,000 guests, including 80,574 children and caregivers who benefited from complimentary or discounted admission. (continued on schedule o)kidspace is dedicated to broadening accessibility and opening doors of opportunity to underserved populations. This includes a partnership with pasadena unified school district whose student body consists of 80% individuals of color and 58% economically disadvantaged families. Kidspace continues to expand its free field trip program to all pre-k and kindergarten classes within the district. In 2024, kidspace provided 3,861 free school visits. In march 2024, the museum launched big little mornings, a free monthly program for new families iwth children aged 0-3. The program is a collaborative model for supporting early learners through partnerships with scholars, service providers, educators, and government officials. Big little mornings served over 7,000 individuals in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 74% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -7.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $632K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 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: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.