Grants for science museums

Name: Top 25 grants made to science and technology museums
Creator: Cause IQ
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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, multiservice human service organizations, scholarship organizations, colleges, and animal shelters.

Foundation size

Foundation size	Number 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 type	Number of grantmakers
Community	13
Private	353
Corporate	26
Other	22

Grants made

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

Top 10 foundations supporting science and technology museums

Grantmaker	State	Geographic focus	Percent of grant dollars to science museums	Number of grants made to science museums	Median grant size
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines	IA	State	0.1%	21	$1,000
JP Morgan Chase Foundation	NY	National	0.0%	18	$100
Seattle Foundation	WA	State	0.0%	12	$1,750
Baird Foundation	WI	National	0.1%	6	$687
Arkansas Community Foundation	AR	State	0.0%	5	$2,500
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)	TN	Metro	0.0%	5	$1,500
Community Foundation of North Texas (NTXCF)	TX	State	0.0%	5	$1,000
Carmax Foundation	VA	National	0.1%	4	$980
Abbvie Foundation	IL	National	0.0%	4	$157
The Pitney Bowes Foundation	CT	National	0.5%	3	$5,000

See all grantmaking to science museums

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 grant	Number of grants
<$10k	521
$10k-$25k	0
$25k-$100k	0
$100k+	0

Grant amount by grantee size

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

Grantee states

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

Grantee metros

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

Top 25 grants made to science museums

Grantee	Grant size	Purpose	Grantmaker
Pacific Science Center	$5,000	Unrestricted General	Osberg Family Trust
Connecticut Science Center	$5,000	To Sponsor Green Gala: Disco Inferno	Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation
Jason Learning	$5,000	Sponsorship	Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)
Pacific Science Center	$5,000	To Inspire Learning in Youth and Families Through Hands on Science Education, Exhibits and Programs	Lily Pointe Foundation
Maryland Academy of Sciences	$5,000	All for General Purposes	Eliasberg Family Foundation
Maryland Academy of Sciences	$5,000	All for General Purposes	Eliasberg Family Foundation
Wings World Quest	$5,000	General Support	TAWANI Foundation
CuriOdyssey	$5,000	P4P Spring Into Action(p4psia)	Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Discovery Science Center of Orange County	$5,000	General Support	Liberty Hill Foundation
The Most	$5,000	The Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology Program	JM McDonald Foundation
Arizona Science Center	$5,000	Support for Regional Science Fair	Broadcom Foundation
Reuben H Fleet Science Center	$5,000	Preparation for 2020 Isef	Broadcom Foundation
The Franklin Institute	$5,000	To Further Public Service	The Barbara Brodsky Foundation
CuriOdyssey	$5,000	Repair Habitats of Fox and Bobcats To Enhance Animal Safety and Quality of Life	Thornton S. Glide Jr. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation
The Adler Planetarium	$5,000	General	A. G. Cox Charity Trust
South Florida Science Center and Aquarium	$5,000	Charitable Exempt Purpose	The William H Pitt Foundation
The Franklin Institute	$5,000	General Purpose	The Shanahan Family Charitable Foundation
Emerald Coast Science Center	$5,000	Donation	National Defense Industrial Association
Maryland Academy of Sciences	$5,000	General Support	Associated Jewish Charities of Baltimore
Imagination Station	$5,000	Adopt A School Program for Science M	Elsie and Harry Baumker Charitable Foundation
Discovery World	$5,000	General	Ellamae Siebert Foundation
Discovery World	$5,000	General Operating Support	Sadoff Family Foundation
Gateway To Science Center	$5,000	Work 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	$5,000	General Purpose Support	Barnes Family Foundation
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM)	$5,000	Charitable Entity Support	Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation

See all grants to science museums

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.