The Pensacola Mess Hall Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455211853
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Pensacola, FL, USA
Phone
8779376377
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$494,549
Expenses
$430,581
Assets
$697,896
Liabilities
$6,420

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN PRATT (EXECUTIVE DI): $52,700 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

An interactive science museum which allows hands-on exploration of "math, engineering, science and stuff" (mess) serving the community at large.

What it reported doing in 2025

Held year-round workshops and summer camps to facilitate learning science through hands-on experiments and demonstrations for varied age groups.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.6%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $189.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.62; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.6% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $304K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $53K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.