California · Nonprofit
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (California) receives grants from 362 organizations whose IRS filings report $117,172,210 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($37,037,520). 219 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 53% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $102M
- Funders on record
- 362
- Grants received
- $117M
- Net assets
- $800M
What San Francisco Museum of Modern Art does
Mission
See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. For that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections, create exhilarating exhibitions, and develop engaging public programs that connect with our community.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
See schedule oexhibitionsa key objective of sfmoma's mission is to present exhibitions that explore works by leading modern and contemporary artists and the most significant artistic directions of our time, in the context of an active dialogue with local, national and international art communities. The museum seeks a balanced exhibition program that includes monographic and thematic exhibitions of broad appeal as well as those that reflect sfmoma's distinctive curatorial voice in painting and sculpture, photography, media arts, and architecture and design. The exhibitions program includes twenty-five to thirty presentations annually, of which approximately 75 percent are organized by sfmoma and approximately 25 percent are traveling exhibitions organized by other institutions.sfmoma holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was the first museum on the west coast devoted solely to 20th-century art. The museum's current collection includes over 52,000 works of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, and media art. They are displayed in 170,000 square feet of exhibition space, making the museum one of the largest in the united…
$29,371,157 spent$8,260,280 earned by the program38% of program spendingSee schedule ocollections and purchase of artone of the most important functions of a museum is to develop, care for, and make accessible to the public an outstanding collection of works of art, thereby creating and offering an artistic legacy to the community, nation, and the world. Since 1935, sfmoma has been a pioneer among modern and contemporary art museums in collecting and public programming in the fields of photography, architecture and design, installation, and new media, even as it has assembled premier holdings in the more traditional media of drawing, painting, and sculpture. Sfmoma's art collection is regional, national, and international in scope, and begins in the twentieth century, with the exception of photography, which encompasses the entire history of that medium (1839 to the present). The museum has more than 52,000 works of art in its collection, reflecting the collecting strategies of the museum's curatorial departments and the research library.department of painting and sculpturethe department of painting and sculpture consistently engages with the art and artists of our time, continuing efforts that extend back to our opening in 1935. In addition to…
$11,688,380 spent$17,425 earned by the program15% of program spendingSee schedule oeducation and community engagementeducation and community engagement at sfmoma strives to make contemporary art and culture engaging, relevant, and accessible to audiences of all ages and knowledge levels. Together, we create opportunities for learning that serve a wide array of backgrounds and cognitive styles; foster meaningful conversations and shared inquiry; develop interpretive, teaching, and scholarly resources; build partnerships with community members and organizations; and make space for play and experimentation. Major areas of focus include: 1. Education: creates educational experiences for students, families, and professional development for k-12 teachers, with an emphasis on bay area audiences. Offerings include virtual and on-site programs such as tours, workshops, film screenings, artist-commissioned resources, and higher education programs and access. 2. Interpretive media: interpretive multimedia materials that offer thought-provoking insights and creative responses to art from many voices in order to facilitate connections between audiences, artworks and artists. Offerings include videos, podcasts, audio guides, games, and interactive learning…
$3,414,292 spent$520 earned by the program4% of program spendingCollectors' forumcollectors' forum is an art experience group dedicated to encouraging the collection of modern and contemporary art. Through annual dues, collectors' forum members support the museum's general operating budget. In appreciation of this support, collectors' forum members experience exclusive programs and travel opportunities centered around the art market and all aspects of collection-building. Seca (society for the encouragement of contemporary art)seca is an art experience group which celebrates the local art scene and builds community among creatives and the art-curious through educational and social programs. Seca members enjoy tours and talks at local arts organizations, artist-run spaces, and more. Members are also invited to participate in the biennial seca art award by nominating local artists for this prestigious award and exhibition at sfmoma, and visiting the studios of finalists to gain insights on their work.
$33,033,606 spent$29,261,330 earned by the program43% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $77,507,435.
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 $782M to $875M (+12%).
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 1% · 2018 1% · 2019 0% · 2020 1% · 2021 13% · 2022 14% · 2023 1% · 2024 1% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
38% of SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (56% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 9 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
Robert J Fisher
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 123 funders to 122 funders, grant income fell $12M → $9.6M.
28 of 362 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 53% 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: $32M from one payer (an institutional transfer, not a grant programme, largest Fisher Art Investment Foundation); $18M from 14 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The San Francisco Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART raised.
From the IRS filings of SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 362 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
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 32% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
53% 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 SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 26% · 2018 45% · 2019 37% · 2020 31% · 2021 38% · 2022 40% · 2023 41% — 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 SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% 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
53% of SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART'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 $55M that is directly attributable, 72% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $62M arriving through sponsors registered in 15 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
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART's revenue grew 37% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 43 arts & culture nonprofits over $100M, FY2025
Government funding SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.2M on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$500k
- National Endowment for the Humanities$450k
- National Endowment for the Arts$215k
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 SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
67%
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 3 related entities
- Lowrie Avenue LLC · disregarded
- The Art Supporting Foundation · exempt
- The Prentice and Paul Sack Photographic Trust · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: 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 SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART?
- SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (California) receives grants from 362 organizations whose IRS filings report $117,172,210 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($37,037,520). 219 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 53% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART have?
- IRS filings report 362 organizations giving $117,172,210 in grants to SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, 219 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $37,037,520 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 362 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