Space Center Houston

Legal name: Manned Space Flight Education Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760217152
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, United States
Phone
+1 281-244-2147
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$61,190,428
Expenses
$45,269,425
Assets
$125,155,530
Liabilities
$12,181,423

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

Leadership & pay

44 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM HARRIS (CEO/PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM HARRIS (CEO/PRESIDENT): $942,032 total reported compensation
  • JANET BROWN (CFO/SECY/TREASURER): $404,405 total reported compensation
  • MARY SHAFER (COO): $402,481 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 Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN Tax ID# 76-0217152), is dedicated to inspiring curiosity and fostering a love of science through our comprehensive learning programs and world-class space museum. At the heart of our mission is Space Center Houston, a premier science and space exploration learning center. As Houston’s leading attraction and the top destination for international visitors in the region, we proudly serve as the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

What it reported doing in 2024

Manned space flight education foundation operates space center houston, a visitors' center devoted to increasing public knowledge of manned space flight by providing artifacts, exhibits, tours of nasa, and live demonstrations. Visitors approximate 1,000,000 annually. In addition, the foundation benefits from volunteer efforts, which have totaled 18,000 hours and have been valued at $612,000. The mission of space center houston, the gateway to johnson space center and the astronauts, is to be a world-class attraction dedicated to inspiring, entertaining and educating every generation about space exploration, the mission of nasa's johnson space center, related areas of science and technology, and the benefits of space exploration to humankind.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 91% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.8%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 26%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.76; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 60.8% of revenue deployed · 78.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $942K · 44 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $616K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.