New York · Nonprofit
SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM
SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM (New York) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $402,497 to it, the largest being NATIONAL GRID FOUNDATION ($145,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $4.0M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $402k
- Net assets
- $18M
What Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum does
Mission
"the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum - a unique combination of mansion, marine and natural history museum, planetarium and park - is dedicated to the education and enjoyment of the people of long island and beyond. This mission shall be achieved through the thoughtful preservation, interpretation and enhancement of the eagle's nest estate as an informal educational facility. Many exhibition and program themes focus upon long island's gold coast era. Programs also concentrate on william k. Vanderbilt ii's desire that his marine, natural history, and ethnographic collections promote appreciation and understanding of the marvelous diversity of life, other cultures, and scientific knowledge. Planetarium programming, more specifically, focuses on scientific knowledge and seeks to capture mr. Vanderbilt's sense of adventure and exploration through state-of-the-art entertainment."
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Building operations ensure the preservation, safety, and functionality of the historic Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum estate, a 43-acre waterfront property listed on the national register of historic places. This program encompasses the ongoing maintenance of the museum's historic buildings, exhibits, education center, planetarium, and landscaped grounds, as well as utilities, custodial services, and 24-hour security. In 2024, the department oversaw routine and seasonal maintenance projects, completed critical repairs to infrastructure, and continued preservation work to safeguard the estate's historic structures. The team maintained the property's buildings and grounds to ensure a safe, accessible, and welcoming environment for more than 180,000 annual visitors, including students, families, and lifelong learners. Building operations staff also supported the installation of exhibitions and public events, ensuring compliance with safety codes and best practices for environmental controls. These efforts are essential to sustaining the museum's mission of education, preservation, and community engagement.
$1,541,826 spent50% of program spendingPlanetarium - the vanderbilt's charles and helen reichert planetarium, which first opened in 1971, remains one of long island's premier destinations for immersive science education and entertainment. The planetarium enhances the museum's offerings with cutting-edge programming in the most technologically advanced theater of its kind in the region. Serving thousands of students, families, and visitors each year, the planetarium provides curriculum-based astronomy programs for local school districts, as well as diverse public programming that includes full-dome films, live star talks, laser shows, concerts, and special community events. The facility is also available for private and corporate rentals, expanding access and engagement opportunities throughout the year.the planetarium continues to invest in technology upgrades, new full-dome content, and enhanced visitor experiences. Recent improvements have expanded live programming, accessibility, and educational outreach, ensuring that audiences of all ages enjoy engaging, interactive experiences that inspire curiosity about the universe. The planetarium's rooftop observatory remains a favorite community feature, welcoming visitors…
$655,828 spent21% of program spendingEducational services - these expenses relate to the various educational programs presented by the staff of the museum. Also included are costs relating to the group tours of the grounds and admissions to the museum. Eagle's nest is the summer home of william k. Vanderbilt ii, the great-grandson of cornelius vanderbilt. Listed on the national register of historic places, eagle's nest was built initially in 1910 as a small english cottage. Over the next 30 years, the house grew into the sprawling 24 room spanish-revival mansion that is seen today. Eagle's nest was designed by famed architects warren and wetmore, who took inspiration from the architecture of spain and northern africa, and adorned with ironwork made by master craftsman samuel yellin. Unique among many mansions, eagle's nest was not only built with living space for mr. Vanderbilt and his family, but also museum space where vanderbilt could showcase the thousands of natural history and cultural specimens he had collected from his travels. The mansion's living quarters offers an intimate look at the life of a privileged family from the jazz age through the second world war. The rooms are as william and rosamond…
$303,735 spent$1,447,252 earned by the program10% of program spendingThe Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum preserves and interprets the historic estate, collections, and legacy of william k. Vanderbilt ii for the education and enjoyment of the public. The museum offers year-round educational programs, exhibitions, planetarium shows, and special events that engage visitors of all ages in science, history, and the arts. It maintains and preserves more than 43 acres of historic buildings, collections, and natural habitats, ensuring their accessibility for future generations. Each year, the museum serves thousands of visitors, including students from across long island, through curriculum-based field trips, workshops, and community outreach programs that support the museum's mission as an educational and cultural resource for suffolk county and beyond.
$560,557 spent18% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,061,946.
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 $3.3M to $17M (+412%).
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: 2020 62% · 2021 65% · 2022 57% · 2023 38% · 2024 40%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
50% of SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM’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. 5 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
Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2019 and FY2020 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 5 funders, grant income rose $21k → $53k.
3 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% 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 SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 74%; 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 98% · 2018 100% · 2019 91% · 2020 42% · 2021 52% · 2022 66% · 2023 47% — 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
60% of SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% 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
81% of SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $43k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM is better cushioned than half of the 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM
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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
68% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Suffolk County Legislature · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM: 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 SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM?
- SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM (New York) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $402,497 to it, the largest being NATIONAL GRID FOUNDATION ($145,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $402,497 in grants to SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM?
- NATIONAL GRID FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $145,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SUFFOLK COUNTY VANDERBILT MUSEUM find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum →
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 12 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