SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA

EIN 41-0706172 · Arts, Culture & Humanities (A560)

What they do

THE SCIENCE MUSEUM of MINNESOTA ENVISIONS A WORLD IN WHICH EVERYONE HAS THE POWER to USE SCIENCE to MAKE LIVES BETTER. THE MUSEUM is ONE of THE STATES OLDEST and BEST-KNOWN CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, WITH A HISTORY DATING BACK to 1907. THE MUSEUM SERVES HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of PEOPLE EACH YEAR WITH A COMBINATION of HIGH-QUALITY STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES, HIGHLY-REGARDED SCIENCE and RESEARCH PROGRAMS THAT SPAN THE GLOBE, and A WORLD-CLASS COLLECTION of NEARLY TWO MILLION FOSSILS, ARTIFACTS, and CULTURAL OBJECTS THAT SPAN BILLIONS of YEARS of EARTHS HISTORY. THE MUSEUMS MISSION is to TURN ON THE SCIENCE: INSPIRE LEARNING, INFORM POLICY, and IMPROVE LIVES.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $84.60 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2024The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders59 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

93.01%of revenue went to mission work84.6% of expenses · Program services

6.85%of revenue went to fundraising6.2% of expenses

$109.94spent for every $100 of revenueSpending was higher than revenue this year.

10.08%of revenue went to management and office costs9.2% of expenses

$2.59in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

51.3%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Worth asking: Expenses exceeded revenue by $3,987,638 this year. Ask whether that was planned or caused by a one-time event.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $390,159 for ALISON BROWN (PRESIDENT AND CEO). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2024

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$40,123,238

Mission workProgram services$37,316,88793.01% of revenue84.6% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$4,045,06910.08% of revenue9.2% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$2,748,9206.85% of revenue6.2% of expenses

Total expenses$44,110,876109.94% of revenue

Expenses were greater than revenue, so the colored ring fills the available $100 and the total above 100% is shown below.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2024CurrentExpense mix: 84.6% mission · 9.2% management · 6.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 109.94% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 80.1% mission · 12.1% management · 7.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 113.58% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 80.0% mission · 12.9% management · 7.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 114.00% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 81.9% mission · 12.3% management · 5.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 123.61% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 80.4% mission · 13.5% management · 6.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 121.80% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 81.8% mission · 12.9% management · 5.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 140.27% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 84.7% mission · 10.3% management · 5.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 93.00% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 84.9% mission · 10.1% management · 4.9% fundraisingTotal expenses: 99.20% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$40,123,238

Expenses$44,110,876

Annual shortfall $3,987,638 Expenses were higher than revenue for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$37,316,887 · 84.6% of expenses

Management and office costs$4,045,069 · 9.2% of expenses

Fundraising$2,748,920 · 6.2% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$40,123,238

Expenses$44,110,876

Assets$114,237,657

Income$65,393,458

Contributions$20,568,874

Mission work (program services)$37,316,887

Fundraising$2,748,920

Grants given$21,000

Average grant$21,000

Management and general$4,045,069

Executive compensation (total)$619,174

Stocks and bonds$20,851,649

Accounting fees$81,078

Investing fees$76,359

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2024

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation

ALISON BROWNPRESIDENT AND CEO · 40 hrs/week $390,159Base $361,685 · Other $28,474

JULIETTE FRANCISVP OF MISSION ADVANCEMENT · 40 hrs/week $237,017Base $205,342 · Other $31,675

ROBERT DOTYCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $233,395Base $221,336 · Other $12,059

JOANNE JONES-RIZZIVP SCIENCE, EQUITY & EDUCATION · 40 hrs/week $224,642Base $215,315 · Other $9,327

MARK DAHLAGERVP OF MUSEUM EXPERIENCES · 40 hrs/week $215,029Base $207,490 · Other $7,539

DANA LINDMAN-GUSTNERSR. DIRECTOR OF HR · 40 hrs/week $189,297Base $181,838 · Other $7,459

TIM FISCHERSR. DIR OF FINANCE & ACCOUNTING · 40 hrs/week $179,256Base $165,371 · Other $13,885

JON SEVERSONSR DIRECTOR PART & GOV RELATIONS · 40 hrs/week $171,517Base $142,677 · Other $28,840

BRYAN KENNEDYDIRECTOR OF MUSEUM TECHNOLOGY · 40 hrs/week $165,872Base $137,489 · Other $28,383

AMY JO JOHNSONDIR OF HR OPS AND COMPLIANCE · 40 hrs/week $158,494Base $146,657 · Other $11,837

LAURIE FINKCHAIR OF SCIENCE · 40 hrs/week $150,454Base $143,420 · Other $7,034

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (59)

ALISON BROWNPRESIDENT AND CEO

JULIETTE FRANCISVP OF MISSION ADVANCEMENT

ROBERT DOTYCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

JOANNE JONES-RIZZIVP SCIENCE, EQUITY & EDUCATION

MARK DAHLAGERVP OF MUSEUM EXPERIENCES

DANA LINDMAN-GUSTNERSR. DIRECTOR OF HR

TIM FISCHERSR. DIR OF FINANCE & ACCOUNTING

JON SEVERSONSR DIRECTOR PART & GOV RELATIONS

BRYAN KENNEDYDIRECTOR OF MUSEUM TECHNOLOGY

AMY JO JOHNSONDIR OF HR OPS AND COMPLIANCE

LAURIE FINKCHAIR OF SCIENCE

MAY YER THAOTRUSTEE

MATT KUCHARSKITRUSTEE

MEGHAN BROWNTRUSTEE

MARY-MARGARET ZINDRENTRUSTEE

MELISSA LEICKTRUSTEE

MELVIN CARTERTRUSTEE

MERCEDES JACKSONTRUSTEE

SHARON SUNDTRUSTEE

MITCH HELGERSONTRUSTEE

PHIL ROLCHIGOTRUSTEE

RASSOUL DASTMOZDTRUSTEE

KELLY ARONSONTRUSTEE

SRI KONERUTREASURER

SUSAN RUNDELL SINGERTRUSTEE

SUZANNE RIVERAE&I CHAMPION

TAREK TOMESTRUSTEE

TIM CARROLLTRUSTEE

TIM OBRIENTRUSTEE

TIM PETERSONTRUSTEE

TIM TIMOTHY OBRIENTRUSTEE

TOM THOMAS WHALEYTRUSTEE

VIRGINIA ARTHURE&I CHAMPION

WILL GEISTTRUSTEE

DR SUZANNE RIVERATRUSTEE

ALENE TCHOURUMOFFTRUSTEE

ANGIE OLSONAWSKITRUSTEE

ARVIND SHARMATRUSTEE

BILL WILLIAM DOVETRUSTEE

BRETT EDELSONTRUSTEE

CHERYL HADAWAYTRUSTEE

CLAUDINE RYDSTRANDTRUSTEE

DEBBIE DEBORAH REIDERTRUSTEE

DON SHELBYTRUSTEE

DR BRET HAAKETRUSTEE

DR MARA C PABN GAUTIERTRUSTEE

DR PAUL CAMPBELLTRUSTEE

KIRSTEN STONETRUSTEE

DRINAL FOSTERTRUSTEE

FUNLOLA OTUKOYASECRETARY

HOLLY MORRISTRUSTEE

JAYSHREE SETHTRUSTEE

JENNIFER LASTINETRUSTEE

JESSICA HELLMANNTRUSTEE

JESSICA HELLMANN PH DCHAIR

JOHN BANOVETZTRUSTEE

ADAM MISHLERTRUSTEE

KEN SMITHTRUSTEE

KENNETH SMITHVICE CHAIR

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1943
Location: 120 KELLOGG BLVD W, SAINT PAUL, MN 55102-1202
County: Ramsey
In care of: % AMY JO JOHNSON
Primary officer: ALISON BROWN, PRESIDENT AND CEO

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Emailinfo@smm.orgPrivacy Phone(651) 221-9418

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: July 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: BAKER TILLY ADVISORY GROUP LP
NTEE classification: Arts, Culture & Humanities (A560)
IRS tax category: Museums
Grant-giving organization: Yes