Smithsonian Institution

Overview

Mission

Advance the Smithsonian’s mission for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”. The Smithsonian Institution was established by an act of Congress in 1846 as an independent federal trust instrumentality, a unique public-private partnership that has proven its value as a cultural and scientific resource for more than 175 years. The federal commitment provides the foundation for all we do, and is especially helpful in attracting private support. We leverage our federal funding to enrich the lives of the American people and advance our mission for “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Congress vested responsibility for the administration of the Smithsonian in a Board of Regents, consisting of the Chief Justice of the United States, the Vice President of the United Stat.

Operating model

Revenue model

Grant-funded. 77% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.

Distribution model

Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 72
• Transparency & Controls: 84
• Accountability: 100
• Sustainability: 78
• Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
• Where the money goes: 74.1% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
• Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3B in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 40 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $161.7M reported
• Consistency: 50 of 51 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
• Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
• Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
• Contacts: How to reach this organization
• Money network: 32 filed money-flow records
• Related organizations: 13 filed related-organization links
• 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.

• Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
• Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
• Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.