Sullenberger Aviation Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561769105
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
7049973770
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,868,793
Expenses
$2,892,646
Assets
$27,850,829
Liabilities
$4,256,019

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Stephen Saucier (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Stephen Saucier (President): $139,677 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

- Inspire present and future generations of aerospace and STEM innovators;- Educate on the impact of aviation and aerospace in our lives, culture, and economy;- Elevate diversity in STEM and aerospace to catalyze economic mobility

What it reported doing in 2024

The Museum has developed a new and now operating facility that celebrates innovation and American ingenuity that led to the emergence of today's aviation and aerospace industry. And in doing so, it is providing community programming to excite the next generation through its mission to INSPIRE, EDUCATE and ELEVATE future generations of innovators with diverse and equitable access to STEM career pathways to address economic mobility. Through the development of the new facility, the Museum has expanded its mission for greater community impact, is completing a capital campaign, and concluding a capital development project in partnership with CLT Airport. The vision of the new Museum facility connects the history of aviation and aerospace to the advancement trends in innovation and aviation/aerospace technologies that inspire people, educate the next generation, and connect students to the ever-increasing career opportunities in STEM. With state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and STEM programs, the new facility is a high-profile cultural tourism attraction and statewide STEM education resource. It promotes aviation's impactful stories highlighting the innovations that shaped our NC heritage of 'First in Flight, and partners with statewide industry to provide educational experiences to drive the development of the STEM aviation/aerospace industry sector by expanding the STEM career pipeline.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 53.5%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 40.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.63; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33% of revenue deployed · 53.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 16 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $146K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.