Wagner Free Institute of Science

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231370509
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2157636529
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$961,079
Expenses
$857,762
Assets
$7,803,979
Liabilities
$783,127

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER BURWASSER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN GLASSMAN (EXECUTIVE DI): $106,868 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The institute is dedicated to providing free public education in science. A national historic landmark, it is also committed to the preservation of its historic building, collections and to providing education in the history and development of science.

What it reported doing in 2023

Education programs include free courses, lectures, and special programs on-site and at locations around the city for adults and children. Programs are available to the public at large free of charge and benefit thousands of children and adults annually. In 2023, the wagner served 22,500 people both in-person and online though its education, museum and library programs. This includes field trips and lessons for schools and other groups; geokids, an award-winning hands-on science program serving 600 children annually at five north philadelphia elementary schools and snap: science, nature and art in philadelphia, an extension of geokids that serves 400 middle school children at the same schools. Snap integrate science learning with art. Geokids links, a partnership with a local university, integrates science faculty and graduate and undergraduate students into geokids implementation, development and evaluation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.8%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.1; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $637K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2023
  • 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.
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.