Massachusetts · Nonprofit
Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc
Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc (Massachusetts) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $275,133 to it, the largest being YAWKEY FOUNDATION II ($100,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $628k
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $275k
- Net assets
- $406k
What Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc does
Mission
To continue monitoring weather the same way as done since 1885. To maintain and develop a meticulous weather and climate record. To educate the public about Atmospheric Science, the history of Blue Hills observatory and many STEM topics.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The Organization offered a variety of educational programs throughout the year, including a series of outdoor events focused on weather phenomena. These programs featured tours of the Observatory and included interviews with authors, meteorologists, and other science professionals. Additionally, the Organization participated in the Southern New England Weather Conference, which it co-hosts with the National Weather Service.
$182,554 spent$60,326 earned by the program57% of program spendingThe Organization observes and records the weather for current and future generations.
$93,553 spent$36,000 earned by the program29% of program spendingThe Organization has refreshed its membership program to give members even more ways to engage with the Observatory. Members now receive regular communications from the Organization and have the opportunity to purchase books, Observatory souvenirs, educational toys, and science kits. Additional member benefits include exclusive tours of the Observatory, as well as access to volunteer opportunities and internships. These enhancements reflect the Organization's commitment to providing meaningful and engaging experiences for its members.
$42,917 spent$5,788 earned by the program13% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $319,024.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $389k to $578k (+49%).
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: 2020 3% · 2021 10% · 2022 7% · 2023 39% · 2024 32% · 2025 32%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 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.
Board chair
Robert Thompson
Board Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 5 funders, grant income rose $6k → $18k.
4 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 45% 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 Blue Hill Observatory Science Center 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
Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
45% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 95% · 2021 56% · 2022 49% · 2023 60% — diversifying over time.
“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
33% of Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 33% 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
100% of Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc's grant income comes from Massachusetts funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $123k 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.
Government funding Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.1M on record — $73k federal, $1.1M state.
- Department of Commerce$73k
- (PP) STATE AID/POL SUB$1.1M
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 Blue Hill Observatory Science Center 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 Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
51% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
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 Blue Hill Observatory Science Center 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 Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc?
- Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc (Massachusetts) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $275,133 to it, the largest being YAWKEY FOUNDATION II ($100,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $275,133 in grants to Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc?
- YAWKEY FOUNDATION II is the largest funder on record, with $100,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Blue Hill Observatory Science Center Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Blue Hill Observatory Science Center →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), 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