Michigan · Nonprofit
MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER
MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER (Michigan) receives grants from 46 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,000,538 to it, the largest being GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC ($4,092,500). 27 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $8.9M
- Funders on record
- 46
- Grants received
- $10M
- Net assets
- $7.3M
What Michigan Science Center does
Mission
The mission of the Michigan Science Center is to inspire curious minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math in a creative, dynamic learning environment.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
During the year, the Michigan Science Center welcomed 128,246 visitors, offering hands-on exhibits and educational programming that inspire curiosity and engagement with science, technology, engineering, and math (stem). Through admissions, we advance our mission to provide a creative and dynamic learning environment where people of all ages discover and appreciate stem.
$3,249,832 spent$1,492,130 earned by the program72% of program spendingThe Michigan Science Center delivered education programs, outreach initiatives, workshops, and camps that served 50,706 participants. Through these efforts including traveling science programs and community outreachwe extended hands-on stem learning opportunities beyond our museum walls, engaging diverse audiences and supporting our mission to inspire discovery, exploration, and appreciation of science, technology, engineering, and math.
$551,803 spent$253,355 earned by the program12% of program spendingFacility rentals allows community organizations, such as the united way and black tech saturday, the opportunity rent the facility to provide experiences/field trips for students. In addition, it allows for a unique corporate meeting space as well as themed events available to the public.
$269,854 spent$123,901 earned by the program6% of program spendingFacility rentals allows community organizations, such as the united way and black tech saturday, the opportunity rent the facility to provide experiences/field trips for students. In addition, it allows for a unique corporate meeting space as well as themed events available to the public.
$445,945 spent$148,653 earned by the program10% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,517,434.
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 2023 to 2024, from $5.3M to $7.9M (+51%).
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: 2019 1% · 2021 14% · 2022 3% · 2023 31% · 2024 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
77% of MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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
Christian Greer
President and CEO
Board chair
Thomas G Stephens
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018, and between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $370k → $1.1M.
9 of 46 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 61% 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 MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 46 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
MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 64%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
62% 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 MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 54% · 2018 39% · 2019 39% · 2020 21% · 2021 17% · 2022 29% · 2023 35% — 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
59% of MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% 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
61% of MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $3.9M that is directly attributable, 96% of it comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 11,761 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,761 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.3M on record.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration$798k
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$395k
- Department of Agriculture$115k
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 MICHIGAN SCIENCE 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 Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
75% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
70%
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 MICHIGAN SCIENCE 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 MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER?
- MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER (Michigan) receives grants from 46 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,000,538 to it, the largest being GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC ($4,092,500). 27 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 46 organizations giving $10,000,538 in grants to MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER, 27 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER?
- GS DONOR ADVISED PHILANTHROPY FUND FOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $4,092,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. 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 Michigan Science Center →
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 46 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