Missouri · Nonprofit
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL (Missouri) receives grants from 108 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,702,244 to it, the largest being THE SUNDERLAND FOUNDATION ($11,625,000). 66 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $24M
- Funders on record
- 108
- Grants received
- $30M
- Net assets
- $57M
What National Wwi Museum and Memorial does
Mission
The National Wwi Museum and Memorial (museum and memorial) is america's leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the great war and its enduring impact on the global community. The museum and memorial fulfills this mission by:- establishing the museum and memorial as the foremost interpreter and resource for insight into the great war and its enduring impact- providing first-class visitor and virtual experience, and delivering increasingly engaging and accessible activities and experiences to diverse audiences; developing and enriching philanthropic relationships and programs necessary to ensure long-term sustainability- establishing the museum and memorial as a 'must-see' destination, and source of civic pride- engaging and inspiring key constituents to contribute to the excellence of the National Wwi Museum and Memorial.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Museum & memorial operations (see schedule o): museum & memorial operations: shortly after world war I ended, a group of kansas city leaders formed a group to create a lasting memorial to those who served. In 1919, a fundraising campaign resulted in 83,000 residents contributing $2.5 million in 10 days (more than $45 million in current dollars). In 1921, a site dedication hosted more than 100,000 people, including the five major allied commanders the first time these individuals were in the same place at the same time. Following years of planning and construction, the memorial opened in 1926 to a crowd of more than 150,000 people, including u.s. President calvin coolidge. At the time, it was the largest audience a u.s. President had ever addressed at one time. After decades of unaddressed deferred maintenance, the memorial temporarily closed in 1994. Once again, kansas city area residents rose to the challenge at this critical juncture and raised $102 million for renovations and a major expansion to build a world-class museum below the memorial courtyard. After achieving national historic landmark status and designation from congress as america's official wwi museum, the expanded…
$7,255,526 spent$4,127,971 earned by the program74% of program spendingExhibitions and collections management (see schedule o): exhibitions and collections management :the National Wwi Museum and Memorial is the nation's only museum solely dedicated to preserving the history and examining the personal narratives of the great war. The museum and memorial holds the world's most comprehensive collection of world war I (1914-1919) objects, artifacts and documents, from belligerent nations across the globe that were involved in the conflict. It is the second oldest wwi collecting institution in the world. And presents a comprehensive global interpretation of world war I and its enduring impact.the museum and memorial's collection includes more than 380,000 world war I historical objects and artifacts. In 2024, the museum accepted 205 new accessions into the permanent collection, each of which contains at least one object, with some containing hundreds of objects. Collection priorities respond to immediate research and exhibition needs, as well as unique opportunities that arise. The museum and memorial works to ensure that the stories of minorities, women and indigenous peoples who served in wwi are collected and told through a dedicated collecting…
$1,481,153 spent15% of program spendingGlobal education initiatives (see schedule o):global education initiatives : for the past decade, the National Wwi Museum and Memorial has initiated a variety of strategies to share its rich collection and interpretation to a global audience through digital learning technologies. The museum and memorial launched a new website in early 2022 to update the dated design and improve the user experience. The platform integrates video content, offers translation into a variety of languages and streamlines content to make it more available and accessible. For on-demand learners, the museum and memorial uses a variety of tools and partners to reach a digital audience including social media, youtube, its online collections database, educator resources, 22 online exhibitions and more. The museum and memorial continues to expand content and diversify platforms, including a partnership with google arts and culture to meet the ongoing needs and interests of core audiences. Through youtube and other platforms, global audiences from 140 nations engaged with museum and memorial content online during 2024.the museum and memorial offers a diverse range of public programs open to all ages to educate…
$1,075,416 spent11% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $9,812,095.
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 $46M to $58M (+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: 2017 12% · 2018 8% · 2019 8% · 2020 6% · 2021 38% · 2022 12% · 2023 23% · 2024 50%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
79% of NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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
Matthew C Naylor
President/CEO
Board chair
Thomas F Whittaker
Chair/board member
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 16 funders to 44 funders, grant income rose $855k → $6.3M.
14 of 108 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 6% 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 NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 108 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
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL leans on a few funders — its largest provides 39% of grant income and the top three 63%; 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 29% · 2018 42% · 2019 26% · 2020 56% · 2021 62% · 2022 57% · 2023 48% — 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
38% of NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% 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
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL draws 80% of its grant income from funders outside Missouri, across 18 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.7M 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
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 772 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 772 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $950k on record.
- National Endowment for the Humanities$451k
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$299k
- American Battle Monuments Commission$200k
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 NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL
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 Missouri
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
77% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
75%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL: 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 NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL?
- NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL (Missouri) receives grants from 108 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,702,244 to it, the largest being THE SUNDERLAND FOUNDATION ($11,625,000). 66 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL have?
- IRS filings report 108 organizations giving $29,702,244 in grants to NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL, 66 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL?
- THE SUNDERLAND FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $11,625,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Missouri. 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 National Wwi Museum and Memorial →
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 108 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