Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation DossiersMostly funded, not a grantmaker — see who funds it →
Plinth

· Public charity

Association of Science-Technology Centers Inc

The association of science-technology centers (astc) is a professional membership organization with a vision of increased understanding of-and engagement with-science and technology among all people and a mission to champion and support science and technology centers and museums.

$375k
Granted FY2024still arriving
19
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$57k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
0179% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant clustered by its grantee’s IRS cause code (NTEE), by year — across FY2017–2024.

Arts & Culture$1.9MEducation$287kYouth Development$100kHuman Services$27kEnvironment$25kAnimals$23kScience & Tech$22kCommunity Improvement$21kHealth$11kOther$632k
02FY2024 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 19 grants below total $282,682 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $375,044 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $92,362 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $40k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $186k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $57k
$11,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE$57,145
CABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM$30,587
EXPLORA OF ALBUQUERQUE$23,000
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOUNDATION$21,970
THE WORKS MUSEUM$11,000
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION$11,000
CATAWBA SCIENCE CENTER$11,000
REUBEN H FLEET SCIENCE CENTER$11,000
SPACE CENTER HOUSTON$11,000
SANTA CRUZ MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY$11,000
FERNBANK SCIENCE CENTER$11,000
PUTNAM MUSEUM AND SCIENCE CENTER$11,000
LONG ISLAND EXPLORIUM$11,000
DISCOVERY MUSEUM INC$11,000
SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA$8,300
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY21–21, $27k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 63% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%EXPLORATIONWORKS INC: $10k → 9%OLIVEWOOD GARDENS AND LEARNING: $7k → 11%POLYNESIAN ASSOCIATION OF ALASKA: $10k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

AK
ME
NH
WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
HI
OK
LA
MS
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

27%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$830k · 25 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +62% since the first grant, against +33% for the ones you funded once.

25 repeat relationships — 10 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
115

Total granted

$830k
$2.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+62%
+33%

Still filing today

96%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 43% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $162k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’20’21’22’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementScience & TechOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as “new.” Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • Oregon State University Foundation
    3× · 2020–2022 · $127k · revenue +33%
  • ES
    EXPLORA SCIENCE CENTER & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ALBUQUERQUE INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $78k · revenue +143%
  • CI
    CARNEGIE INSTITUTE
    2× · 2020–2021 · $68k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • CW
    C WILLIAMS RUSH LLC
    one grant, 2021 · $110k · revenue -41%
  • NG
    NATIONAL GIRLS COLLABORATIVE
    one grant, 2021 · $100k · revenue +18%
  • DC
    DISCOVERY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
    one grant, 2021 · $86k · revenue +22%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Cook Museum of Natural Science
Arts & Culture
2
Science & Discovery Center of Northwest Florida Inc

To educate and inspire children and adults through hands-on, interactive exhibits and programs that promote discovery of science, technology and history.

Arts & Culture
3
Museum of Discovery

To ignite and fuel a passion for science, technology, arts and math through dynamic interactive experiences.

Arts & Culture
4
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences dba the Staten Island Museum

Founded in 1881 the Staten Island Museum engages visitors with interdisciplinary exhibitions, public programs, and educational activities for all ages. It is the mission of the Staten Island Museum to spark curiosity and generate…

Arts & Culture
5
Museum of Innovation and Science

To inspire a sense of wonder about extraordinary scientific and technological developments: past, present and future.the museum fulfills this mission by preserving and interpreting the history of technological change and its impact on…

Arts & Culture
6
Omaha Discovery Trust

The luminarium opened in april 2023 with more than 125 interactive exhibits and a kaleidoscope of engaging programs focused on science, art, and human perception. the luminarium is an innovative community space and learning environment…

Education
7
The Children's Museum of Science and Technology Inc

Install a sense of wonder and discovery in youth minds, inspiring a lifelong exploration of science and technology.

—
8
Discovery World Ltd

Discovery World educates, motivates,mobilizes and inspires the innovators and entrepreneurs of the 21st century. We connect innovation, science, and technology with exploration, environment, and our Great Lakes freshwater resources through…

Education
9
The Children's Museum of Northern N

To educate and delight children in the company of their parents.

Arts & Culture
10
Explorium Denton Childrens Museum

We believe that children should be able to explore their curiosities in a safe environment. engaging the community, including the family unit, is imperative in a child's development. to educate children means more than sending them…

Education
11
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
12
National Children Museum

To inspire children to care about and change the world. National Children's Museum (NCM) is a next generation institution that sparks curiosity and ignites creativity for children under 12 by fostering critical competencies in S.T.E.A.M.…

—

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Discovery Museum Inc and the most unlike its peers is Mexican Cultural Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyLocal History MuseumsWomen & Girls Leadership De…Community Arts CentersOrchestra and Ensemble Perf…Policy Research and AdvocacyEnvironmental Conservation …Faith-Based Liberal Arts Co…Public Library OperationsHealth Access Advocacy and …Community FoundationsCommunity College Foundatio…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 42 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%2%<5yr14%5%5–10yr19%11%10–20yr16%22%20–35yr13%30%35–55yr16%30%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%3%<5yr14%10%5–10yr19%9%10–20yr16%15%20–35yr13%27%35–55yr16%35%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 3% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/152
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,413

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

129 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 129 of the 150 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
41
Early backer (in before they grew)
127/129
Grantees still filing
96/129
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

C WILLIAMS RUSH LLC — $110,000 · Arts & CultureC WILLIAMS RUSH LLCDISCOVERY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $86,181 · Arts & CultureEXPLORA SCIENCE CENTER & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ALBUQUERQUE INC — $77,616 · Arts & CultureCARNEGIE INSTITUTE — $67,500 · Arts & Culture+89 more — $1,579,027 · Arts & Culture+89 moreKANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $79,935 · OtherKANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRAR…REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY — $57,833 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY…AUGUSTA LIBRARY OF THE YOUNG MENS LIBRARY ASSOC — $55,569 · OtherAUGUSTA LIBRARY OF THE YO…QUAPAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA — $49,243 · OtherQUAPAW NATION OF OKLAHOMAPublic Library of MTV - Knox — $37,852 · OtherPublic Library of MTV - K…HYRUM CITY MUSEUM — $32,000 · OtherRICHLAND LIBRARY — $28,920 · OtherPULASKI COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY — $28,051 · OtherCity of Takoma Park — $22,993 · Other+25 more — $293,580 · Other+25 moreOregon State University Foundation — $126,961 · EducationOregon Sta…Association of Tribal Archives Libraries & Museums — $20,000 · EducationAssociatio…ALASKA LIBRARY NETWORK — $19,536 · EducationALASKA LIB…SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS CORPORATION — $17,285 · EducationSPRINGFIEL…SCI-TECH DISCOVERY CENTER INC — $14,700 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC — $11,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION — $10,496 · EducationLEHIGH UNIVERSITY — $10,000 · EducationIHANKTONWAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE — $9,660 · Education+7 more — $47,236 · Education+7 moreNATIONAL GIRLS COLLABORATIVE — $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentEXPLORATIONWORKS INC — $10,063 · Human ServicesPolynesian Association of Alaska Inc — $10,000 · Human ServicesOLIVEWOODS GARDENS & LEARNING CENTER INC — $6,950 · Human ServicesEllerbee Creek Watershed Association — $14,500 · EnvironmentJAPANESE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF SAN DIEGO INC — $10,000 · EnvironmentSouth Dakota Discovery Center — $22,773 · Animals
Arts & Culture$1,920,324Other$685,976Education$286,874Youth Development$100,000Human Services$27,013Environment$24,500Animals$22,773

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetOregon State University Foundation — $126,961 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL GIRLS COLLABORATIVE — $100,000 over 1y, 8.7% of budgetDISCOVERY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $86,181 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetEXPLORA SCIENCE CENTER & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ALBUQUERQUE INC — $77,616 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCARNEGIE INSTITUTE — $67,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Children's Museum of Indianapolis Inc — $62,118 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE INC — $59,600 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE INC — $57,145 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE DISCOVERY MUSEUM INC — $53,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetPROVIDENCE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $52,279 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetAmerican Museum of Natural History — $49,223 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOUNDATION — $40,970 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA SCIENCE CENTER — $40,700 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSAN ANTONIO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $33,406 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetORLANDO SCIENCE CENTERINC — $32,200 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDRENS MUSEUM CORPORATION OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY INC — $31,110 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetSCIENCENTER DISCOVERY MUSEUM — $31,055 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCONNECTICUT SCIENCE CENTER INC — $31,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC — $30,587 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetWitte Museum — $30,318 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY — $27,191 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PENSACOLA MESS HALL INC — $26,800 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetMuseum of Science and History of Jacksonville Inc — $26,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF NW ARKANSAS — $24,605 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetAUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $24,168 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMUSEUM OF SCIENCE — $23,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSouth Dakota Discovery Center — $22,773 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetMcALLEN INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM — $22,280 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetGREAT LAKES MUSEUM OF SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY — $22,220 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC DBA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM TUCSON — $21,100 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE WORKS — $21,075 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCATAWBA SCIENCE CENTER INC — $21,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES — $21,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BLUES MUSEUM — $20,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetTRICKSTER ART GALLERY — $20,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetAssociation of Tribal Archives Libraries & Museums — $20,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetALASKA LIBRARY NETWORK — $19,536 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSCIENCE MUSEUM OKLAHOMA INC — $19,203 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDAYTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY — $18,700 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDISCOVERY GATEWAY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM — $18,680 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetDISCOVERY MUSEUM INC — $18,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetECOEXPLORATORIO INC — $18,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetANN ARBOR HANDS-ON MUSEUM — $17,689 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetMCAULIFFE-SHEPARD DISCOVERY CENTER CORP — $17,678 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetSPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS CORPORATION — $17,285 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TECH INTERACTIVE — $17,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGEORGIA MUSEUMS INC — $17,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER — $17,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Association of Childr…Mr Metzger Family Fou…Ibm International Fou…Union Pacific Foundat…Museum of SciencePublix Super Markets …Dominion Energy Chari…Pwc Foundation IncHighland Street Conne…Fidelity FoundationCorning Incorporated …The Nordson Corporati…
Association of Children's Museums IncVA32× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Association of Children's Museums Inc · Mr Metzger Family Foundation Inc · Ibm International Foundation · Union Pacific Foundation · Museum of Science · Publix Super Markets Charities Inc · Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation · Pwc Foundation Inc · Highland Street Connection and Subsidiaries · Fidelity Foundation · Corning Incorporated Foundation · The Nordson Corporation Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Association of Science-Technology Centers Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology — 35% of income from government
  • Springfield Cultural Partnership Inc Attn Karen Finn — 31% of income from government
  • Association of Tribal Archives Libraries & Museums — 21% of income from government
  • The Discovery Museum Inc — 15% of income from government
  • Connecticut Science Center Inc — 14% of income from government
  • Liberty Science Center — 14% of income from government
  • Hull Lifesaving Museum Inc — 13% of income from government
  • The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture Inc — 8% of income from government
  • Worcester Natural History Society Inc — 8% of income from government
  • Children's Discovery Museum of Cape Cod Inc — 7% of income from government
  • The Pensacola Mess Hall Inc — 5% of income from government
  • Springfield Museums Corporation — 5% of income from government
  • Orlando Science Centerinc — 4% of income from government
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry — 4% of income from government
  • Discovery Museum Inc — 3% of income from government
  • Museum of Science — 0% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation — 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
46report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25

Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending — grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 150 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home
State money flows
the interactive map of money crossing state lines