Math-science Nucleus

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942862140
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Fremont, CA, USA
Phone
5107906284
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,756,800
Expenses
$2,089,994
Assets
$2,764,720
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joyce R Blueford (Board President)
  • Debbie Davidson (Vice President Board)

Highest reported compensation

  • Hagos Tewolde Negusse (Animator Web Design): $83,200 total reported compensation
  • Art Williams (Restoration Specialist): $83,200 total reported compensation
  • Althea Weber (Collection Manager): $56,160 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Math Science Nucleus is a non-profit 501c3 educational and research organization composed of scientists educators and community members founded in 1982. It serves as an online science resource center to assist school districts teachers and administrators around the world. The major goal is to develop problem solving capacity through science for the worlds children. We provide a free online reference science curriculum for elementary grades. We also manage with field trips and classes the Childrens Natural History Museum fossils of local area Tule Ponds at Tyson Lagoon environmental education Fremont Earthquake Exhibit California Nursery Historical Park and Masonic Home Reforestation Project.

What it reported doing in 2025

Childrens Natural History Museums renovation of outside and inside were mainly completed. Continued working on exhibit space including new exhibits. Collection archives of fossils and paperwork continued with new collections being accepted. Managed and provided new exhibits at Childrens Natural History Museum including signage and research on materials; collection of fossils at CNHM continued science field trips. Opened in November to public. Grant money mainly from State of California funded renovations. Concept plan for City of Fremont on the original site was completed including new materials found at Univ of Calif Museum of Paleontology. Did research at original site to confirm that there are still fossils in the area. Dig site at Sabercat Historical Park was reopened and limited field trips were conducted.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 41.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.