Ohio · Nonprofit
CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER
CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER (Ohio) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,309,565 to it, the largest being JOHN J & MARY R SCHIFF FOUNDATION ($1,000,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.1M
- Funders on record
- 20
- Grants received
- $2.3M
- Net assets
- $957k
What Cincinnati Observatory Center does
Mission
The mission of the cincinnati observatory is to maintain the integrity and heritage of an historic 19th century observatory and to educate, engage, and inspire our community about astronomy and science.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Educational outreach - the observatory provides hands-on learning opportunities in the stem (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines aligned with oh, ky & in k-12 curriculum standards. We offer a variety of standard and customized programs which center around the definition of science, inquiry, the scientific method, critical thinking and problem solving. In 2020, before the covid-19 pandemic, we were slated to focus our work on increasing our underserved engagement, which remains a priority as we shift to online learning platforms and programs. While our numbers were not where they would have been absent a pandemic, we were still able to work with 5,000 students in person (jan-mar 2020) and an additional 3,000 students via online outreach. We continue to work with students pre-k through grade 12. Grade 3-5 programs directly align with state standards, while other elementary and middle school levels show the valuable multi-disciplinary connection of astronomy and space science content with other areas of the student's study. Grade 9-12 programming connects to their physics curriculum.
$204,785 spent$30,950 earned by the program35% of program spendingGeneral public - the observatory worked with over 37,000 people in 2019, the largest number in our history who have benefited from our public outreach and youth education programming. That number dipped considerably due to the 2020 pandemic, as we closed our doors for many months, however, we were able to expand our shift to online programming by offering interactive classes, tours and programs online. Still, in 2020, we reached more than 20,000 people (10,000 people through in-person programming and 10,000 people via online learning). We provide science and history programs to educate and engage children, youth and adults with the history of the observatory and its historical work. The observatory hosts classes for all ages and experience levels, offering hands-on workshops for new telescope owners and those pursuing astro-photography, and monthly lecture series for in-depth advanced topics showcasing observatory staff and outside professional educators and astronomers. Beyond our facility, the observatory hosts stargazes at schools, nursing homes, civic organizations and other nonprofits, and city, county and state parks.
$186,632 spent$22,786 earned by the program32% of program spendingHistoric facility - in 2020, during our covid-19 closure, we continued to be stewards of the buildings and grounds, including refinishing the hardwood floors in both buildings and telescope dome rooms, and other minor repairs required to maintain this national historic landmark. Also developed plans for the cataloguing, conservation and interpretation of the observatory's collection of objects, historic books and archives.
$196,475 spent$75,968 earned by the program33% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $587,892.
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 $3.3M to $1.4M (−58%).
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.
80% of CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $96k → $147k.
3 of 20 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 3% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $580k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Cincinnati Observatory Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER raised.
From the IRS filings of CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER’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
CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 43% of grant income and the top three 85%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 41% · 2018 95% · 2019 55% · 2020 59% · 2021 66% · 2022 50% · 2023 51% — 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
43% of CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% 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
99% of CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER's grant income comes from Ohio funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $68k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER
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 Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
42%
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
- Cincinnati Observatory Foundation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER: 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 CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER?
- CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER (Ohio) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,309,565 to it, the largest being JOHN J & MARY R SCHIFF FOUNDATION ($1,000,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 20 organizations giving $2,309,565 in grants to CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER?
- JOHN J & MARY R SCHIFF FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. 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 20 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