California · Nonprofit
CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC
CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC (California) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $605,983 to it, the largest being THE HERBERT K YEE AND INEZ F YEE FDTN ($205,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.2M
- Funders on record
- 19
- Grants received
- $606k
- Net assets
- $11M
What California State Railroad Museum Foundation Inc does
Mission
Raise and manage funds to support the educational and interpretive programs of the california state railroad museum and to assist state parks in fulfilling their mission.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Sacramento southern railroad operations program provides services directly to the public by enhancing their experience and providing an interpretive experience in old sacramento california state historic park.
$1,690,603 spentof which $465,000 as grants$496,909 earned by the program34% of program spendingThe membership program provides enhanced visitor experience by providing educational offerings, events and activities which increase the understanding and interest in the california state railroad museum.
$909,035 spent$216,640 earned by the program18% of program spendingRailtown 1897 railroad operations program provides services directly to the public by enhancing their experience visiting the railtown 1897 california state historic park.
$690,210 spentof which $525 as grants$220,177 earned by the program14% of program spendingRailroad shops project is the study, design, and presentation of the plan to build an expanded museum buildings complex as part of the railyards project being built by the city of sacramento. This project was halted in 2020 due to covid-19 and has been placed on hold for the foreseeable future.
$61,522 spent1% of program spendingCalifornia state railroad museum store retail operations serves visitors with the ability to purchase educational and interpretive items to enhance their visitor experience.
$623,571 spent$648,492 earned by the program12% of program spendingMuseum administration and maintenance provides services directly to the california state railroad museum in order to better serve the public visiting the museum.
$348,724 spent7% of program spendingEducation & interpretation & volunteer management program provide services directly to the public who visit the california state railroad museum such services as education, living history days and other public relations.
$219,157 spent$2,720 earned by the program4% of program spendingCollections acquisition & library reproduction program serves to sponsor, publish, purchase, distribute/sell appropriate literature, illustrative materials & other items which will increase the understanding & appreication for the values & purpose of the california state railroad museum.
$34,220 spent$11,046 earned by the program1% of program spendingExhibits/events program provides services directly to the public visiting the california state railroad museum which includes displays of special exhibits during the year.
$148,621 spentof which $500 as grants3% of program spendingRailtown depot store operations serves visitors with the ability to purchase educational and interpretive items to enhance their visitor experience.
$225,754 spent$118,221 earned by the program4% of program spendingThe magic of toy trains exhibit features some 1,000 vintage toy trains, six interactive displays, and a magnificent operating toy train layout. Named after the esteemed collector and donor, thomas w. Sefton, the 3,300 square-foot exhibit features priceless examples of lionel, buddy l, and marklin.
$33,970 spent1% of program spendingOther projects including sacramento/railtown restoration projects
$41,822 spent1% of program spending
The 12 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,027,209.
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 2020 to 2021, from $8.9M to $11M (+28%).
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 14% · 2021 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
25% of CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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.
Chief executive
Timothy Schroepfer
President/CEO
Board chair
Todd Aquilina
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 6 funders, grant income rose $14k → $83k.
7 of 19 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 33% 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 CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION 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
CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 34% of grant income and the top three 69%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
37% 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 CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 64% · 2018 55% · 2019 53% · 2020 36% · 2021 49% · 2022 55% · 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
38% of CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 42% 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
91% of CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $201k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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
CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC is better cushioned than half of the 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION 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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
88% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
89%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Boiler Shop LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION 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 CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC?
- CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC (California) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $605,983 to it, the largest being THE HERBERT K YEE AND INEZ F YEE FDTN ($205,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 19 organizations giving $605,983 in grants to CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC?
- THE HERBERT K YEE AND INEZ F YEE FDTN is the largest funder on record, with $205,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 19 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing