Moxi the Wolf Museum of Exploration Innovation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770252722
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8057705000
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,502,951
Expenses
$5,287,129
Assets
$20,287,365
Liabilities
$1,025,072

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBIN GOSE (CEO & PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBIN GOSE (CEO & PRESIDENT): $287,069 total reported compensation
  • Kate MacNaughton (CAO): $167,654 total reported compensation
  • TOM BLABEY (CFO & COO): $162,311 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To ignite learning through interactive experiences in science and creativity.

What it reported doing in 2025

Education moxis education department is a creative, collaborativeenvironment where staff members innovate new ways to learn. Throughplayful interactions with our hands-on, minds-on exhibits, moxi guestsexplore, think, and design creatively, forming their own questions anddiscovering their own answers. The museum offers programs for all agesfrom toddlers to adults. All guests can participate in daily programs and experiences facilitated by moxis floor staff known as sparks. Educators and students have opportunities to visit on field trips and participate in facilitated engineering exploration programs. Moxi offers paid programs for all ages throughout the year, from week-long camps for children to happy hour events for adults, teacher nights out, the teen maker corps and more - there is something for everyone at moxi.exhibits - the museums 25,000 square foot, leed-certified goldbuilding houses three floors filled with interactive exhibits, rotatingart installations, the innovation workshop makerspace, a multipurposeexploration lab, and back-of-house office and exhibit workshop space.operations - moxi serves around 165,000 visitors annually. Ouroperations team prepares our guests for an extraordinary experience.other program services member services - maintains the museums family membership program, including ongoing member benefits, which include member only events.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.84; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $287K · 26 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.