New Jersey · Nonprofit
WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM
WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM (New Jersey) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $40,903 to it, the largest being AP Kirby Jr Foundation Inc ($35,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $160k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $41k
- Net assets
- $1.4M
What Whippany Railway Museum does
Mission
The organization's primary exempt purpose is to educate the public about, and create an interest in railroads and railroading, both historical and modern. This broad purpose includes model railroading, the relationship between railroads and the major industries that they serve, and to a much lesser extent, other modes of transportation.the organization's primary exempt purpose is accomplished through:1. The acquisition, restoration, and display of railroad-related historical and current items, as well as an indoor and outdoor operating model railroad.the scope of the primary exhibit collection also includes historical and current items related to major industries that are served by railroads (the coal industry, the farming industry, etc).the museum has also dedicated a very small portion of its indoor exhibit space to historical passenger ocean liners and the shipping industry.2. Theme and antique excursion train rides from the museum's site at whippany, new jersey
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Theme and antique excursion train rides from the museum's site at whippany, new jersey to roseland, new jersey.theme trains feature "the easter bunny or "santa claus" talking to the children and giving them toys, coloring books, or other small gifts.antique train rides feature the use of an antique or historical piece of railroad equipment (cabooses, locomotives, passenger cars, etc.)while on site, the public is encouraged to come inside and visit the museum.
$110,046 spentof which $455 as grants$127,238 earned by the program92% of program spendingMuseum operations
$9,290 spent$15,541 earned by the program8% of program spendingThe acquisition, restoration, and display of railroad-related historical and current items, as well as an indoor and outdoor operating model railroad. The exhibit collection also includes historical and current items related to major industries that are served by railroads. It should be noted the Whippany Railway Museum building has free use of facilities and electricity.
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $119,336.
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 2023 to 2024, from $1.4M to $1.4M (+5%).
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.
11% of WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $5k → $5k.
2 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 WHIPPANY RAILWAY 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
WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM leans on a few funders — its largest provides 86% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 97% · 2021 100% · 2022 94% · 2023 96% — 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.
Where its funders are
100% of WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM's grant income comes from New Jersey funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6k 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
WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like WHIPPANY RAILWAY 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 Jersey
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
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WHIPPANY RAILWAY 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 WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM?
- WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM (New Jersey) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $40,903 to it, the largest being AP Kirby Jr Foundation Inc ($35,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $40,903 in grants to WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM?
- AP Kirby Jr Foundation Inc is the largest funder on record, with $35,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WHIPPANY RAILWAY MUSEUM find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New Jersey. 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 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