Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,752,326 to it, the largest being GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION ($4,464,246). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $11M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $7.8M
- Net assets
- $7.7M
What Association of Science-Technology Centers Inc does
Mission
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. Founded in 1973, astc champions and supports more than 500 science centers, technology museums, natural history museums, children's museums, and other stem-rich, place-based institutions, such as nature centers, aquariums, planetariums, zoos, and botanical gardens throughout north america and in nearly 50 countries-as well as nearly 200 other organizations that share an interest in science learning and engagement.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Build a more equitable and sustainable future - -programs that support members to prepare and lead with their communities - builds capacity among science and technology centers and museums and allied organizations for leading with their communities on critical issues of science and technology. Through largely grant-supported efforts, astc develops and deploys programs to understand and scale new approaches to public engagement in science and informal science learning among our members. Astc also invests in research to help our members recognize and act on market and societal trends affecting their businesses and their communities. -advance equitable engagement in science and technology - brings together institutions rich in science, technology, engineering, and math (stem) that serve diverse communities around the globe, and that recognize that diversity, accessibility, inclusion, and equity are paramount values. Invests in action for the field in support of these values including our diversity and leadership development fellows program, collaborative support of the cultural competence learning institute, and multiple programs focused on broadening participation in our field and…
$820,901 spent17% of program spendingStrenghen members and their capacity - -astcs annual conference - hosts one of the premier professional-development opportunities for the global science-center community, where, each year, 1,500 to 2,000 individuals representing science centers and museums from across the world, informal science educators, and companies collaborating with the museum field gather. Offers general sessions, concurrent sessions, and other activities and events at this annual convening. -publications and communities of practice - keeps members apprised of trends, practices, perspectives, and news of significance to the science-museum field through a digital magazine and other publications. Provides resources, timely information and online communities and forums that promote the sharing of successful practices through online communities of practice. -workshops, webinars, and other convenings - provides learning and networking opportunities for museum and science engagement professionals on a range of topics. -research services - tracks and analyzes trends and compiles data, information, and statistics for the science museum field.
$2,469,484 spent$2,198,156 earned by the program52% of program spendingChampion and support science engagement - -advocacy and public relations - advances the interests of science centers, informal science learning, and science and technology research and engagement broadly within the u.s. Federal government. Encourages museum visitorship through public relations efforts and a reciprocal free admission program. -public awareness and stakeholder engagement - conducts outreach to north american and international research, business, technology, and education organizations to position the science museum field as a potential partner for connecting the public to science and its relationship to global issues. -collaborating across the science-engagement ecosystem - supports a growing network of leaders in science and technology engagement networks to foster a more robust ecosystem of organizations who are engaging the public in stem. -international network and member collaborations - works with national and regional science center networks outside of the united states to support science centers and museums worldwide.
$1,272,300 spentof which $47,864 as grants$24,709 earned by the program27% of program spendingLegacy projects -legacy projects represent multi-year funded projects that astc does not anticipate continuing. While these projects advance astc's mission and support our work with our members, they may not fall into one of astc's new strategic pillars.
$219,848 spent5% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,782,533.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $4.7M to $10M (+123%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 31% · 2018 28% · 2019 28% · 2020 27% · 2021 59% · 2022 25% · 2023 10% · 2024 4%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
75% of ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Christofer Nelson
President and CEO
Board chair
Tim Ritchie
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 3 funders, grant income rose $60k → $1.0M.
4 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 23% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 58% of grant income and the top three 81%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 54% · 2018 93% · 2019 51% · 2020 42% · 2021 95% · 2022 56% · 2023 63% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
18% of ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 772 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 772 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $10.5M on record.
- National Science Foundation$7.2M
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$3.3M
- Smithsonian Institution$29k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
89% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
98%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC?
- ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,752,326 to it, the largest being GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION ($4,464,246). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $7,752,326 in grants to ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC?
- GORDON E AND BETTY I MOORE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,464,246 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 12 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing