Linda Hall Library Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464390683
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
8169268746
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,878,703
Expenses
$1,351,294
Assets
$1,806,620
Liabilities
$3,072

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIC DORFMAN (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC DORFMAN (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $480,103 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN T GORDON (SECRETARY/TREASURER): $268,133 total reported compensation
  • ERIC WARD (VP OF PROGRAMMING): $141,447 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Linda hall library foundation engages in activities to promote public understanding of science and to further education and scholarship in science, engineering, technology, and their histories. Its programs are designed to encourage the public, scholars, and researchers to learn, investigate, explore, and increase knowledge.

What it reported doing in 2025

The foundation supported activities that promoted the public's understanding of science and furthered education and scholarship in science, engineering, technology, and their histories in partnership with the linda hall library. Fifty-five educational programs were offered in 2025, with over 13,000 people attending in person and approximately 390,000 views on the organization's youtube channel. Those activities included: - free public exhibitions at the linda hall library including follow the recipe and new acquisitions, - free public programs ranging from panel discussions, lectures and activities were presented both in person and virtually. - the Kansas city invention convention competition for students from middle and high schools throughout the region. Over 1,200 students used the curriculum and over 450 young inventors participated in the competition in 2025. This program supported twenty-eight schools and thirty-four teachers. - how do i become? A stem program designed to introduce high school and early college students through panel discussion with young professionals in stem careers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.6%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.8%; rating input score 98; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 28.1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.34; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.1%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.6% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $480K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $209K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.