Mount Washington Observatory

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020225135
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
North Conway, NH, USA
Phone
6033562137
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Astronomy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,721,606
Expenses
$2,391,436
Assets
$12,438,606
Liabilities
$2,378,085

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERICA BROMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • BRUCE SOPER (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • LOURDES AVILES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DREW BUSH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DREW BUSH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $135,555 total reported compensation
  • BRENDA SULLIVAN (DIRECTOR OF FIN/ADMIN): $85,096 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance understanding of the natural systems that create earth's weather and climate. It serves this mission by maintaining a weather station on the summit of mount Washington, performing weather and climate research, conducting innovative science education programs, and interpreting the heritage of the mount Washington region.

What it reported doing in 2024

School programs- 1,800 k-12 students joined across 46 virtual programs delivered by weather observer/education specialists.- more then 3,480 students participated in 174 in person school-day programs delivered by mwobs educators, plus 53 afterschool programs for 500+ youth.- 12 k-12 teachers participated in the arctic wednesdays professional development program- more then 830 students visited our summit weather station through our second full year of field trips.adult and general programs- 9 programs featuring speakers from speakers from the university of New Hampshire, nasa scientists, observatory research staff and more with 2,600 zoom attendees, 2,900 youtube views - 41 climbers and guides participapted in guide-led overnight climbing trips- 56 guests participated in the overnight edutrip program in the winter of 2024-2025weather forecasts:- produced 704 48-hour forecasts for the higher summit- approximately 18 specialized forecasts for eventslearning ecosystems northeast-mwobs education staff continued into a second year participating in a nasa-funded stem learning ecosystems project led by gulf of Maine research institute. Mwobs coordinates a connected learning ecosystem in northern New Hampshire, whereby educators regularly meet, learn together, share resources, and developed collaborative learning experiences for youth related to stem, climate, and data literacy.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd 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: 12.1%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.2; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.8% of revenue deployed · 70.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.