Texas Museum of Science & Technology

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770615845
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Cedar Park, TX, USA
Phone
5129615333
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$722,557
Expenses
$878,099
Assets
$427,978
Liabilities
$557,147

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ED SLANE (Executive Director)
  • JOSEPH POIRIER (Vice-President)
  • LIZ LATHAN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • ED SLANE (Executive Director): $13,179 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to engage the scientist in all of us by igniting a spirit of inquiry. We strive to

What it reported doing in 2017

Operated a science & technology museum in cedar park, Texas, serving austin and the central Texas region. Programs included hands-on science exhibits, establishment of a long term "time walk" exhibit of fossils from the cambrian period to the present, display of a traveling exhibit of items from king tutankhamun's tomb, inventions of leonardo da vinci, and an exhibit from the dea. In addition, conducted talks and lectures for adults and events for younger guests highlighting scientific topics throughout the year, and held star parties on friday evenings when weather permitted.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.5%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.3; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 37% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 43.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $775K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $13K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2011 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.