Virginia · Nonprofit
SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC
SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC (Virginia) receives grants from 66 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,666,544 to it, the largest being THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($1,809,592). 38 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $4.0M
- Funders on record
- 66
- Grants received
- $6.7M
- Net assets
- $33M
What Science Museum of Virginia Foundation Inc does
Mission
The science museum of virginia foundation, inc. Serves as the private fundraising partner of the science museum of virginia, a state institution that was founded in 1970 by both the virginia academy of science and the virginia general assembly to "raise the public understanding of science and technology throughout the commonwealth." the museum, as a state supported cultural institution, receives approximately 50 percent of its annual support from the commonwealth of virginia. Additional support is raised by the foundation through charitable contributions (annual gifts and permanent endowment gifts), grants, capital campaign gifts, fundraising events and investment income. Funds from the foundation are granted to the science museum on an annual basis to support the programs, projects and operations that are authorized and approved by the trustees of the museum.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
New exhibit purchase and maintenance: the science museum of virginia foundation supports hundreds of museum permanent exhibits and visiting exhibits throughout the year, offering visitors hands-on opportunities to learn and experiment with science concepts.
$946,701 spentof which $946,701 as grants33% of program spendingMuseum unrestricted operating support: the science museum of virginia's statewide mission is to inspire virginians to enrich their lives through science. Smvf supports the goals and aspirations of the museum by providing support for museum general operations, including staffing, materials, and services.
$1,038,507 spentof which $1,038,507 as grants37% of program spendingEducational programming and outreach: the science museum of virginia foundation supports museum educational programming in the form of classes, activities, lectures, educational workshops and training for all ages, and provides funding for group museum visits for schoolchildren and community organizations.
$708,393 spentof which $708,393 as grants25% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$133,509 spent5% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,827,110.
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 $22M to $32M (+45%).
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 8% · 2018 0% · 2019 1% · 2020 1% · 2021 5% · 2022 3% · 2023 5% · 2024 7% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
61% of SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 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
Kinsey Peeler - Ended 032024
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2024 and FY2025 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 27 funders, grant income rose $315k → $1.4M.
15 of 66 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 51% 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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 66 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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 27% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
58% 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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 71% · 2018 63% · 2019 56% · 2020 37% · 2021 31% · 2022 29% · 2023 18% — 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
45% of SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% 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
51% of SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC'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 $3.3M that is directly attributable, 68% of it comes from Virginia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC 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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $705k on record.
- Department of Commerce$456k
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$250k
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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION 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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
70% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
67%
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 MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION 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 SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC?
- SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC (Virginia) receives grants from 66 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,666,544 to it, the largest being THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($1,809,592). 38 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 66 organizations giving $6,666,544 in grants to SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC, 38 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC?
- THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,809,592 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 66 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