The Wonderlab Museum of Science Health and Technology Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 351956521
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bloomington, IN, USA
- Phone
- 8123371337
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Science and Technology Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $637,930
- Expenses
- $410,463
- Assets
- $5,658,765
- Liabilities
- $1,288,459
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ASHLEY JOHNSON (PRESIDENT)
- PHILEMON YEBEI (VICE PRESIDENT)
- KAREN JEPSON-INNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KAREN JEPSON-INNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $24,636 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The wonderlab museum of science, health and technology is a premier center for informal science education and discovery. Wonderlab provides opportunities for people of all ages, especially children, to experience the wonder and excitement of science through hands-on exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity, encourage exploration, foster lifelong learning and explore connections to the arts and everyday life.
What it reported doing in 2024
The wonderlab museum provides interactive exhibits, activities and special programs focused on science, technology, engineering and math. Prior to march 2020, the organization served over 85,000 visitors at its museum in downtown bloomington and at off-site experiences. After a steep decline in attendance during the years of the pandemic, attendance is moving strongly toward pre-pandemic levels. The organization served 80,909 visitors (children, adults, infants) at the museum. In-person outreach programs during that time reached an additional 10,468 children and adults. During the summer of 2024, the organization offered 31 different week-long sessions of wondercamp (a hands-on, in-person summer science enrichment experience) providing educational experiences for 479 registered campers. The organization's visitors are primarily from south central Indiana.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 81% 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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 56.5%; rating input score 56
- Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th 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: 35.7%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.79; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 56.5% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $348K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $25K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.