San Diego Society of Natural History
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 951643375
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- San Diego, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6192323821
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural History, Natural Science Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,325,697
- Expenses
- $15,491,016
- Assets
- $82,853,679
- Liabilities
- $2,069,913
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JUDY GRADWOHL (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JUDY GRADWOHL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $425,108 total reported compensation
- MATT JAWLIK (VP CFO/COO): $183,553 total reported compensation
- EOWYN BATES (VP PHILANTHROPY): $164,808 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Conserving nature through science and discovery.
What it reported doing in 2024
Public programs: the museum offers public access to exhibitions on five floors, a giant screen theater, and education classrooms. Informal education programs include exhibitions that preserve and display natural objects documenting the geological history and life of the region, educational classes, lectures and expeditions in the field of natural sciences.
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 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: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 61
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 64
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- 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; 66th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.35; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $425K · 23 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.