The Franklin Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231370501
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
215.448.1200
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$51,159,403
Expenses
$34,570,608
Assets
$226,419,270
Liabilities
$25,540,580

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

Leadership & pay

70 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LARRY DUBINSKI (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LARRY DUBINSKI (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,063,589 total reported compensation
  • DARRYL WILLIAMS (SVP OF SCIENCE & EDUCATION & HR): $341,199 total reported compensation
  • ABIGAIL BYSSHE (CHIEF EXPERIENCE & STRATEGY OFFICER): $325,692 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

In the spirit of inquiry and discovery embodied by Benjamin Franklin, the mission of The Franklin Institute is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museum admissions & operations: as the most visited museum in the commonwealth and a top-five tourist destination in the city of philadelphia, the franklin institute serves as both a prominent education and cultural resource, and as an anchor of the local economy. In 2024, the institute welcomed 640,000 visitors to the museum, including 177,300 free and discounted visits provided to underserved schools and families through the access program. The franklin institute's longstanding reputation helps to elevate the commonwealth and the city of philadelphia as models for cultural and informal education excellence. The institute welcomes visitors of all ages to explore science in interactive exhibits and public programs. The institute remains fully committed to providing an exceptional experience for its many visitors and increasing service to its audience, extending the institute's mission- to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology-to children and families throughout greater philadelphia, regardless of means, remains, as always, at the heart of its priorities. It does so through outstanding exhibits and many education and outreach programs

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 99% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.2%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.8%; rating input score 93; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 32.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.55; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 61.2% of revenue deployed · 84.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 46 of 47 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $29.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 70 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 45 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.