California · Nonprofit
The Brain Observatory
The Brain Observatory (California) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $195,357 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($176,976). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $143k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $195k
- Net assets
- $156k
What The Brain Observatory does
Mission
The Brain Observatory is a nonprofit organization advancing the study of the human brain and public understanding of neuroscience. It conducts research in brain imaging and neurodegenerative disease and offers hands-on education programs for students teachers and the community. Its mission is to make neuroscience accessible through real laboratory experiences and the preservation of human brain data for research and learning.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990-EZ.
Programs
The Brain Observatory provides neuroscience-based STEM programs for students and teachers across San Diego County. Activities include afterschool and in-school enrichment field trips to the downtown laboratory seasonal camps research internships and teacher professional development. During the year the organization served more than 3,000 students and educators through hands-on learning with real laboratory materials and data. The nonprofit also generates program income by providing its science curriculum and instructional services to public school districts and community partners. These programs support workforce readiness in life sciences and increase access to quality STEM education for underrepresented youth.
$80,000 spentof which $98,445 as grants56% of program spendingPublic Engagement and Community Outreach: The Brain Observatory maintains a science gallery in downtown San Diego that welcomes visitors to learn about brain science through exhibitions guided tours and community events. Programs such as public open houses workshops and special exhibitions provide hands-on access to real research environments and materials. In 2024 more than 2,000 visitors participated in public events workshops and demonstrations. These activities promote community awareness of neuroscience and strengthen connections between scientific research and public education.
$32,818 spentof which $11,000 as grants23% of program spendingNeuroscience Research and Brain Imaging: The Brain Observatory participates in collaborative research in brain imaging and neurodegenerative disease. These collaborations with universities and clinicians aim to identify structural biomarkers across imaging and histological modalities. Currently this research is funded in part by income generated through the organizations STEM education and individual contributions.
$31,000 spent22% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $143,818.
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 2022 to 2023, from $222k to $176k (−21%).
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.
31% of The Brain Observatory’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 6 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
Jacopo Annese
President and CEO
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990-EZ.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income fell $100k → $77k.
2 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 91% 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 The Brain Observatory’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
The Brain Observatory leans on a few funders — its largest provides 91% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
91% 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 The Brain Observatory.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“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.
Where its funders are
91% of The Brain Observatory'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 $18k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside California, across 1 state.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $177k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
The Brain Observatory runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like The Brain Observatory
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.
Public support
78%
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 The Brain Observatory: 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 The Brain Observatory?
- The Brain Observatory (California) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $195,357 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($176,976). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does The Brain Observatory have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $195,357 in grants to The Brain Observatory, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Brain Observatory?
- THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $176,976 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Brain Observatory 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 Brain Observatory →
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 3 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