Grants for science museums

157 science and technology museums received at least $1.1 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 521 grants made from 414 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,500. Of these 414 foundations, 90% made just a single grant to science museums, and 2% made grants to four or more science museums. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$1,079,197
Total grant dollars given to science museums
521
Number of grants made annually to science museums
414
Number of grantmakers funding science museums
$1,500
Median grant size to science museums

Foundations that support science and technology museums

Out of all grants made to science museums, 76% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 14% of the dollar-value of grants to science museums. Foundations funding science museums also made grants to food banks, scholarship organizations, animal shelters, colleges, and art museums.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
316
Medium
 
53
Large
 
45
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
13
Private
 
353
Corporate
 
26
Other
 
22

Grants made

Grants made to science museumsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
376
2-3
 
29
4-10
 
6
11+
 
3

Top 10 foundations supporting science and technology museums

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to science museumsNumber of grants made to science museumsMedian grant size
Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesIAState0.1%21$1,000
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%18$100
Seattle FoundationWAState0.0%12$1,750
Baird FoundationWINational0.1%6$687
Arkansas Community FoundationARState0.0%5$2,500
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.0%5$1,500
Community Foundation of North Texas (NTXCF)TXState0.0%5$1,000
Carmax FoundationVANational0.1%4$980
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%4$157
The Pitney Bowes FoundationCTNational0.5%3$5,000

Science and technology museums grantees

Science museums with more than $5 million in total revenues received 65% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 64% of all science museums.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
521
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
0

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$2,500
$100k-$500k
 
$1,125
$500k-$1M
 
$1,500
$1M-$5M
 
$1,250
>$5M
 
$1,500

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
California
 
76
Illinois
 
47
Texas
 
32
Pennsylvania
 
31
Other
 
335

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
Chicago
 
45
San Francisco
 
34
Boston
 
28
Des Moines
 
27
Other
 
371

Top 25 grants made to science museums

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Pacific Science Center$5,000Unrestricted GeneralOsberg Family Trust
Connecticut Science Center$5,000To Sponsor Green Gala: Disco InfernoCheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation
Jason Learning$5,000SponsorshipInstitute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)
Pacific Science Center$5,000To Inspire Learning in Youth and Families Through Hands on Science Education, Exhibits and ProgramsLily Pointe Foundation
Maryland Academy of Sciences$5,000All for General PurposesEliasberg Family Foundation
Maryland Academy of Sciences$5,000All for General PurposesEliasberg Family Foundation
Wings World Quest$5,000General SupportTAWANI Foundation
CuriOdyssey$5,000P4P Spring Into Action(p4psia)Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Discovery Science Center of Orange County$5,000General SupportLiberty Hill Foundation
The Most$5,000The Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology ProgramJM McDonald Foundation
Arizona Science Center$5,000Support for Regional Science FairBroadcom Foundation
Reuben H Fleet Science Center$5,000Preparation for 2020 IsefBroadcom Foundation
The Franklin Institute$5,000To Further Public ServiceThe Barbara Brodsky Foundation
CuriOdyssey$5,000Repair Habitats of Fox and Bobcats To Enhance Animal Safety and Quality of LifeThornton S. Glide Jr. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation
The Adler Planetarium$5,000GeneralA. G. Cox Charity Trust
South Florida Science Center and Aquarium$5,000Charitable Exempt PurposeThe William H Pitt Foundation
The Franklin Institute$5,000General PurposeThe Shanahan Family Charitable Foundation
Emerald Coast Science Center$5,000DonationNational Defense Industrial Association
Maryland Academy of Sciences$5,000General SupportAssociated Jewish Charities of Baltimore
Imagination Station$5,000Adopt A School Program for Science MElsie and Harry Baumker Charitable Foundation
Discovery World$5,000GeneralEllamae Siebert Foundation
Discovery World$5,000General Operating SupportSadoff Family Foundation
Gateway To Science Center$5,000Work Mentorship Program - Center Provides Hands-On Science Education Presented To Public By High School and College Students Who Share Interactive Exhibits and Displays. Students in the Program Receive Part-Time Working Opportunities To Learn Basic Work Skills From Trained Staff Members.The Tom and Frances Leach Foundation
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science$5,000General Purpose SupportBarnes Family Foundation
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM)$5,000Charitable Entity SupportFrederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Science museums" category for this page is determined by the "A57: Science and Technology Museums" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.