CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

EIN 94-1156258 · Arts, Culture & Humanities (A560)

What they do

THE ACADEMY is A RENOWNED SCIENTIFIC and EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION WITH A MISSION to REGENERATE THE NATURAL WORLD THROUGH SCIENCE, LEARNING, and COLLABORATION. BASED IN SAN FRANCISCOS GOLDEN GATE PARK, IT is HOME to A WORLD-CLASS AQUARIUM, PLANETARIUM, RAINFOREST, and NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM AS WELL AS INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH and ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, ALL UNDER ONE LIVING ROOF. THROUGH GLOBAL EXPEDITIONS, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, and STRATEGIC AREAS of FOCUS ON ISLANDS, CORAL REEFS, and THE STATE of CALIFORNIA, ACADEMY SCIENTISTS STRIVE to GATHER NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LIFES DIVERSITY and THE PROCESS of EVOLUTION and RAPIDLY APPLY THAT UNDERSTANDING to OUR EFFORTS to REGENERATE THE NATURAL WORLD. THROUGH EXHIBITIONS, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, and PARTNERSHIPS THAT ADDRESS THESE SAME TOPICS-DELIVERED to THE PUBLIC ON-SITE AT THE ACADEMYS WORLD-CLASS AQUARIUM, PLANETARIUM, RAINFOREST, and NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, IN THE COMMUNITY, IN BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS AROUND THE WORLD.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $74.80 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 leaders57 people are listed in the latest report.

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

Money made simple

91.59%of revenue went to mission work74.8% of expenses · Program services

7.32%of revenue went to fundraising6.0% of expenses

$122.44spent for every $100 of revenueSpending was higher than revenue this year.

23.54%of revenue went to management and office costs19.2% of expenses

$7.15in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

48.3%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 $20,062,576 this year. Ask whether that was planned or caused by a one-time event.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $883,675 for SCOTT SAMPSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR). 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$89,393,165

Mission workProgram services$81,875,45391.59% of revenue74.8% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$21,039,47923.54% of revenue19.2% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$6,540,8097.32% of revenue6.0% of expenses

Total expenses$109,455,741122.44% 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: 74.8% mission · 19.2% management · 6.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 122.44% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 75.9% mission · 17.1% management · 7.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 126.34% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 74.6% mission · 19.2% management · 6.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 141.31% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 73.6% mission · 20.1% management · 6.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 95.06% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 70.9% mission · 23.7% management · 5.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 72.21% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 72.1% mission · 23.7% management · 4.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 129.91% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 72.9% mission · 23.0% management · 4.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 122.94% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 71.1% mission · 24.8% management · 4.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 104.58% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$89,393,165

Expenses$109,455,741

Annual shortfall $20,062,576 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)$81,875,453 · 74.8% of expenses

Management and office costs$21,039,479 · 19.2% of expenses

Fundraising$6,540,809 · 6.0% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$89,393,165

Expenses$109,455,741

Assets$782,112,156

Income$235,917,182

Contributions$43,146,750

Mission work (program services)$81,875,453

Fundraising$6,540,809

Grants given$100,213

Average grant$25,053

Management and general$21,039,479

Stocks and bonds$287,210,233

Accounting fees$228,045

Investing fees$2,166,843

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

SCOTT SAMPSONEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · 40 hrs/week $883,675Base $705,728 · Other $177,947

JIM GOHARYCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (THRU 05/25) · 40 hrs/week $498,378Base $463,777 · Other $34,601

AMY MILLERDIR. OF EDU K-12/ONLINE (THRU 6/24) · 40 hrs/week $439,206Base $406,104 · Other $33,102

AMBER MACEMANAGING DIR., CHIEF OF STRATEGY · 40 hrs/week $437,276Base $414,031 · Other $23,245

MELISSA FELDERCHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER (THRU 05/25) · 40 hrs/week $425,114Base $370,545 · Other $54,569

MICHAEL COSTANZOGENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF RISK OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $360,064Base $308,210 · Other $51,854

SHANNON BENNETTCHIEF OF SCIENCE & DEAN OF RESEARCH · 40 hrs/week $348,347Base $297,683 · Other $50,664

AYAT ELNOORYCHIEF PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $335,858Base $317,840 · Other $18,018

TIFFANY ZAREMDIRECTOR OF MARKETING (THRU 06/24) · 40 hrs/week $314,409Base $297,727 · Other $16,682

LEAH VAN DER MEICHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (THRU 02/25) · 40 hrs/week $306,190Base $263,810 · Other $42,380

GARY WILLIAMSCURATOR (THRU 06/24) · 40 hrs/week $301,084Base $287,504 · Other $13,580

MEGAN SCHUFREIDERDIR. OF EDU K-12/ONLINE (THRU 6/24) · 40 hrs/week $300,407Base $290,493 · Other $9,914

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 (57)

SCOTT SAMPSONEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

JIM GOHARYCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (THRU 05/25)

AMY MILLERDIR. OF EDU K-12/ONLINE (THRU 6/24)

AMBER MACEMANAGING DIR., CHIEF OF STRATEGY

MELISSA FELDERCHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER (THRU 05/25)

MICHAEL COSTANZOGENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF RISK OFFICER

SHANNON BENNETTCHIEF OF SCIENCE & DEAN OF RESEARCH

AYAT ELNOORYCHIEF PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICER

TIFFANY ZAREMDIRECTOR OF MARKETING (THRU 06/24)

LEAH VAN DER MEICHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (THRU 02/25)

GARY WILLIAMSCURATOR (THRU 06/24)

MEGAN SCHUFREIDERDIR. OF EDU K-12/ONLINE (THRU 6/24)

BRIAN SIMISONCURATOR (THRU 06/24)

RICH MOOICURATOR (THRU 06/24)

MATHEW LAUCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

LISA WHITE PHDVICE PRESIDENT

MARC EBBINTRUSTEE

MARIE LIPMANTRUSTEE

LAURA FURSTENTHAL PHDTRUSTEE

KIAN BEYZAVI PHDTRUSTEE

NATHAN BROSTROMTRUSTEE

MELISSA NELSONTRUSTEE

MICHAEL MILLMANTRUSTEE

MIKE SWEENEYTRUSTEE

JOHN WARRENTRUSTEE

NICOLE LACOBTRUSTEE

NICOLE ARDOIN PHDTRUSTEE

PRIYA CLEMENSTRUSTEE

REBECCA LINTRUSTEE

STEVE KAWATRUSTEE

TESSA HILL PHDTRUSTEE

WILL EVERSTRUSTEE

ELIZABETH BLACKBURN PHDPRESIDENT

AHMED MUHAMMADTRUSTEE

ALAN JONESTRUSTEE

AMY CORDALISTRUSTEE

BILL YOUNGERTRUSTEE

CARLA PETERMAN PHDTRUSTEE

CHRIS FIELD PHDTRUSTEE

CHRIS SCHELL PHDTRUSTEE

CHRISSY LUOTRUSTEE

COREY GARZA PHDTRUSTEE

DAN JANNEYBOARD CHAIR

DENNIS TROPERTRUSTEE

DEREK MITCHELL PHDSECRETARY

KEVIN HARTZTRUSTEE

ENKHUSH AMARBALTRUSTEE

FELICIA CHIUTRUSTEE

GARY HALLTRUSTEE

HYDRA MENDOZATRUSTEE

JACK FORESTELLTRUSTEE

JEFF KOSEFF PHDTRUSTEE

JOHN ADAMSTRUSTEE

JOHN GOLDMANVICE CHAIR

ADAM GAZZALEY MD PHDTRUSTEE

JOHN C DWYERTRUSTEE

JSANFORD SANDY MILLERTRUSTEE

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1926
Location: 55 MUSIC CONCOURSE DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118-4503
County: City and County of San Francisco
In care of: % MIKE MCGEE
Primary officer: MATHEW LAU, CHEIF FINANCIAL OFFICER

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Phone(415) 379-5142

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: July 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: RSM US LLP
NTEE classification: Arts, Culture & Humanities (A560)
Grant-giving organization: Yes