Iowa · Nonprofit
SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA
SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA (Iowa) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,884,943 to it, the largest being BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC ($3,215,950). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $7.1M
- Funders on record
- 54
- Grants received
- $13M
- Net assets
- $44M
What Science Center of Iowa does
Mission
The Science Center of Iowa engages and inspires iowans along their journey of lifelong science learning.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Admissions: the Science Center of Iowa has been part of the cultural community of iowa since opening in 1966. The current, 117,000 square foot Science Center of Iowa facility opened in downtown des moines in 2005 and houses engaging exhibit areas where visitors can explore, learn, and discover through hands-on interaction with science and technology focused exhibits. The facility also includes an additional exhibit hall that hosts both traveling exhibits and special events. In addition, sci houses the john deere adventure theater featuring live science theater performances and the star theater planetarium which features astronomy programs and shows.
$921,724 spent$1,138,082 earned by the program16% of program spendingPreschool program: for more than 40 years, the Science Center of Iowa's preschool has provided children with the opportunity to experience hands-on activities, explore a variety of topics and learn positive social interaction skills in the unique science-based setting of the Science Center of Iowa. The location of the preschool solidifies the science center's commitment to preparing children for their future education, while also offering them opportunities for fun as part of the learning experience. The Science Center of Iowa preschool received national association for the education of young children (naeyc) accreditation in august of 2008 and continues to maintain that certificaiton.
$1,285,837 spent$1,473,121 earned by the program22% of program spendingEducation: the Science Center of Iowa provides engaging and inspiring stem (science, technology, engineering and math) educational programs to schools, groups, and the general public. These interactive programs and demostrations are provided daily to visitors in the exhibit areas, theaters, and in spaces throughout the Science Center of Iowa designated for learning, including the innovation lab. Educational programs are also delivered through sci summer camps, the sci outreach program, and through additional workshops, events, and classes offered to preschool-aged children through adult audiences.
$905,804 spent$544,128 earned by the program16% of program spendingOther program services include a retail shop, facility rental, operations, building and grounds, and the parking garage.
$2,683,577 spent$1,078,990 earned by the program46% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,796,942.
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 $44M to $49M (+9%).
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 6% · 2018 6% · 2019 7% · 2020 8% · 2021 30% · 2022 20% · 2023 5% · 2024 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
23% of SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (63% 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.
Chief executive
Curt Simmons
President/CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 17 funders to 22 funders, grant income rose $759k → $1.0M.
8 of 54 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 54 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
SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 25% 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
55% 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 SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 67% · 2018 58% · 2019 40% · 2020 48% · 2021 38% · 2022 41% · 2023 28% — 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
37% of SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA'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
96% of SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA's grant income comes from Iowa funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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
SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $357k on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$357k
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 SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA
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 Iowa
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
95%
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 SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA: 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 SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA?
- SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA (Iowa) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,884,943 to it, the largest being BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC ($3,215,950). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA have?
- IRS filings report 54 organizations giving $12,884,943 in grants to SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA, 33 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA?
- BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC is the largest funder on record, with $3,215,950 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Iowa. 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 Science Center of Iowa →
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 54 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