Arizona · Nonprofit
LSST INC
LSST INC (Arizona) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,368,804 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($6,109,348). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.6M
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $8.4M
- Net assets
- $2.1M
What Lsst Inc does
Mission
To enhance rubin lsst discovery through advanced data tools, training, and inclusive collaborations for lsst researchers so that any scientist with a good question for the lsst survey can engage with these advanced resources to reveal the mysteries of the universe.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
The templeton program supports outstanding early-career researchers who are conducting cutting-edge scientific investigations and actively contributing to the long-term strength of the field. These scientists, known as catalyst fellows, receive structured support to build research networks, develop cross-disciplinary skills, and adopt practices that advance data-intensive science. The program promotes new discoveries and professional growth in both astrophysics and social j science that advance the promise of the rubin observatory's legacy survey of space and time (lsst).
$1,994,464 spentof which $1,662,021 as grants$2,122,597 earned by the program75% of program spendingThe lsst interdisciplinary network for collaboration and computing (lincc) frameworks program, supported by schmidt sciences, is an ambitious program to develop state-of-the-art data analysis techniques capable of meeting the scale and complexity of the data produced by the rubin observatory legacy survey of space and time (rubin lsst) data.
$248,765 spentof which $174,819 as grants$365,762 earned by the program9% of program spendingThe inclusive collaboration programs, supported by the heising-simons foundation, build best practices for equitable scientific engagement in the lsst discovery alliance community. These programs model and test policies and organizational structures that promote broad inclusion and engage scientists practices and structures that foster inclusion. Program activities include training in software development and in mentoring, key activities which build and foster broad engagement in lsst science and beyond.
$130,098 spentof which $80,366 as grants5% of program spendingData science fellowship program (dsfp) - provides intensive, hands-on data-science training to astronomy graduate students through multi-session workshops supported by the brinson, and wood next foundations.
$101,717 spentof which $97,457 as grants$202,700 earned by the program4% of program spendingHeising-simons childcare grants program, a collaborative effort with the ice cube neutrino observatory.
$28,312 spentof which $18,366 as grants1% of program spendingAfrican astronomy travel fund - supports travel for astronomers and students from african institutions to participate in lsst-related workshops and collaborations.
$27,558 spentof which $25,849 as grants$18,611 earned by the program1% of program spendingSummer student program offers short-term collaborative experiences for undergraduate students working with lsst-da member institutions and mentors.
$23,401 spentof which $2,004 as grants$17,374 earned by the program1% of program spendingAll other
$104,101 spentof which $17,182 as grants$38,063 earned by the program4% of program spending
The 8 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,658,416.
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 2021 to 2022, from $4.1M to $7.0M (+71%).
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 14% · 2019 18%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of LSST INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 8 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.
Board chair
Michael Wood-Vasey
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 4 funders, grant income rose $150k → $1.7M.
2 of 6 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.
From the IRS filings of LSST 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
LSST INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 73% of grant income and the top three 94%; 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: 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 71% · 2021 93% · 2022 92% · 2023 63% — 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.
Where its funders are
LSST INC draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Arizona, across 3 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $218k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
LSST INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 482 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 482 science & tech nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like LSST 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 Arizona
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
43%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 3 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LSST 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 LSST INC?
- LSST INC (Arizona) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,368,804 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($6,109,348). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LSST INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $8,368,804 in grants to LSST INC, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LSST INC?
- JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $6,109,348 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LSST INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Arizona. 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 6 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