Tyler Arboretum

Legal name: The John J Tyler Arboretum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231417540
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Media, PA, US
Phone
610-566-9134
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Botanical Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,687,468
Expenses
$2,801,552
Assets
$18,278,393
Liabilities
$944,397

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHRYN OMBAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS OF 7/9/25)
  • MIKE SKUJA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNTIL 7/9/25)
  • MARGUERITE KRANICK (PRESIDENT AS OF 1/26/26)
  • HEATHER SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT UNTIL 1/26/26)
  • ELIZABETH OLIVE ROMAINE (VICE PRESIDENT AS OF 1/26/2026)
  • JOHN EWING (VICE PRESIDENT UNTIL 1/26/26)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHRYN OMBAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS OF 7/9/25): $119,313 total reported compensation
  • MIKE SKUJA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNTIL 7/9/25): $84,769 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To connect people with nature through horticulture, land stewardship, and educational programs.

What it reported doing in 2025

Tyler arboretum continues to prioritize its mission to connect people to the natural world through regular programming for all ages. School field trips continue to be a popular draw and tyler added a food production field trips that encourages children to learn how food is grown, help harvest in tyler's vegetable garden, and then make and eat a recipe using the ingredients harvested. All tyler's children's programming continue to encourage nature immersion, experiential learning, and creating better stewards of the natural world. Tyler's summer camp restarted in 2025 and has already become a popular local camp, selling out for 2026. Tyler continues to see immense interest in its annual plant sale, evening events and special nature at night series throughout the summer. (continued on schedule o) before and after hours features like owl prowls, moth nights, and full-moon hikes remain popular, as do tyler's communities of wednesday morning birders, hikers, and wildflower enthusiasts.tyler continues to provide visitors with docent-led tours, history tours, pop-up education stations, and regular docents at its pollinator preserve. The pollinator preserve continues to be an exciting attraction that highlights unusual species of moths and butterflies, while allowing visitors to read educational signage throughout the garden about important host plants for native pollinators.in 2025, tyler hosted its first trail challenge, encouraging visitors to hike all 17 miles of tyler's trails in its 550 acres of natural areas. 439 people registered for the challenge and participants hiked more than 2,805 miles of tyler's trails, reinforcing that tyler arboretum's natural areas play an important role in our community, encouraging the health benefits of nature immersion and hiking. With the trail challenge popularity, tyler will repeat it again in fall 2026.all visitors were invited to participate in tyler's ongoing, perennial activities: 1) walking in premier gardens, including the wister rhododendron garden and its new hybridizer garden; 2) exploring the native woodland walk; 3) discovering the stopford meadow maze; 4) taking in the scenic loop; 5) learning about edible plants in lucille's garden; 6) experiencing the sensory walk through the fragrant garden and more.

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 - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.2%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 63.3%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 40.2%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.52; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 45.2% of revenue deployed · 63.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $119K · 23 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $152K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.