Wisconsin · Nonprofit
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 44 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,589,789 to it, the largest being RAY FOUNDATION INC ($7,910,000). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $54M
- Funders on record
- 44
- Grants received
- $11M
- Net assets
- $43M
What Experimental Aircraft Association Inc does
Mission
Experimental aircraft association, inc. Is dedicated to growing aviation through participation and education. We strive to deliver educational offerings and activities which guide new participants and reduce barriers to participation. Eaa (continued on schedule o)ignites and nurtures interest by embracing the "spirit of aviation" in all that we do. Eaa is organized and operated exclusively for educational, scientific and charitable purposes. Eaa cooperates with and assists governmental agencies in the development of programs relating to aviation activities, promotes and encourages aviation safety, promotes and encourages grass roots efforts relating to aviation research and development and promotes and encourages aviation through education.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Airventure - the largest aviation event of its kind is held each year in late july. Airventure educates those attending on aviation and aircraft through exhibits, demonstration airshows, educational sessions, and interactive displays. There were approximately 686,000 airventure attendees.
$15,238,775 spentof which $17,000 as grants$22,048,026 earned by the program37% of program spendingMembership and publications - "sport aviation" is a monthly publication issued to members with a variety of educational information on aviation. "airventure today" is a daily newspaper printed every day during airventure. Other various printed and digital publications are produced on a periodic basis to inform and educate members or airventure attendees. Includes costs associated with providing knowledge and information to assist with technical questions on aviation matters and promoting membership in the organization.
$7,115,120 spent$6,426,891 earned by the program17% of program spendingEaa provides flight experiences in vintage and historical aircraft at local airports to educate the public about the history and role of aircraft over time and inspire a future generation to engage in aviation. These aircraft serve as a living history that holds a remarkable connection to the past. Making these aircraft accessible to the public increases the public's knowledge about the role of aviation in commerce and security, the engineering advances that promoted aviation and the ways in which aircraft redefined world travel. This year over 62,000 flight experiences were provided and nearly 8,700 air tours were given on our aircraft that toured the united states. Tour stops are hosted by volunteers who are passionate about sharing stories about the planes on the tour and educating (continued on schedule o) the attendees about the importance of aviation.
$3,809,341 spentof which $1,690,405 as grants$1,538,189 earned by the program9% of program spendingDesignated chapters, museum admissions, sport air workshops, hosted events, and special interest community support
$15,165,933 spentof which $330,668 as grants$7,984,434 earned by the program37% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $41,329,169.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 $64M to $98M (+53%).
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: 2018 0% · 2022 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
19% of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (52% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Jack Pelton
CEO/chairman of the board
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 17 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $240k → $250k.
14 of 44 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% 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: $35M from 4 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Eaa Aviation Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC raised.
From the IRS filings of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 44 funders by total. 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
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 75% 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 31% · 2018 21% · 2019 78% · 2020 83% · 2021 87% · 2022 91% · 2023 27% — 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
44% of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 66% 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
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC draws 99% of its grant income from funders outside Wisconsin, across 15 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 85 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 85 science & tech nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $231k on record — $230k federal, $1k state.
- Department of Defense$230k
- Contr&3rd Pty-Educ & Training$1k
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 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION 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 Wisconsin
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
91%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Part of a family of 4 related entities
- Eaa Imc LLC · disregarded
- Eaa Stc LLC · disregarded
- Blue Sky Property Holdings LLC · disregarded
- Eaa Aviation Foundation Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION 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 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC?
- EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 44 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,589,789 to it, the largest being RAY FOUNDATION INC ($7,910,000). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 44 organizations giving $10,589,789 in grants to EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC, 29 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC?
- RAY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $7,910,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Wisconsin. 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 2018–2025), and the filings of 44 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