Large Binocular Telescope Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860724677
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
5206265231
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Astronomy

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,015,334
Expenses
$20,699,263
Assets
$88,756,521
Liabilities
$7,433,673

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Adriano Fontana (Chiarman & President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Adriano Fontana (Chiarman & President): $30,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The LBT Corporation's purpose is to maintain and operate a large optical observatory for astronomical research which will expand humanity's knowledge of space from the vicinity of Earth to the edge of the observable universe.

What it reported doing in 2025

A total of 277.5 nights were offered to the LBTO partners and science staff in 2025 for scientific observations, while 20.5 were devoted to engineering work. Poor weather resulted in a loss of 36% of scheduled science time, which is better than the long-term average. A total of 60 scientific papers based on LBT data were published in 2025 in refereed journals.

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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -37.9%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.29; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.