Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2012.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
51 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
14 people listed on the 990; $126K paid to officers and key staff.
Maria Villafranca’s $75K as Interim Executive Director is at the 71st percentile of top reported officer pay among 2215 $100K–1M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Aquillano | — | — | — | $54,476 | $129,740 | $123,507 |
| Maria Villafranca | $75,292 | $120,923 | — | — | — | — |
| Maria Villafranca Since 0722 | — | — | $85,070 | — | — | — |
| Liana Mestas | $50,817 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Samuel Aquillano Thru 0722 | — | — | $50,226 | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Inspires social change by teaching and showcasing design's transformative power.
Questions for Design Museum Foundation INC
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Design Museum Foundation (DBA CoDesign Collaborative) produces public programming in the form of workshops, forums, field trips and community meetups in the Greater Boston area and in Portland, Oregon. Our workshops provide practical tools, strategies, and learning that strengthen creative leaderships.
CoDesign Collaborative hosts two ongoing educational programs. The Current is a virtual, student-led lightning talk series that highlight vital topics in design. College-level students invite a professional leader to engage in a fireside conversation on a topic related to design and social impact.
Design Museum Foundation (DBA CoDesign Collaborative) produces a biannual publication under the title, Unfold (formerly Design Museum Magazine). Each edition of the magazine highlights a vital topic in design, featuring a Guest Editor, and expert contributors, who write in-depth, feature-length articles.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $30K | $735 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $81K | $56K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $683K | $664K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$602K | −$608K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $75K | $38K | $15K | $23K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $66K | $42K | $9K | $16K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $36K | $20K | $6K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $11K | $6K | $2K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $8K | $8K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $8K | $8K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $7K | $4K | $3K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $13K | $8K | $2K | $4K |
| InterestLn 20 | $10K | $10K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $9K | $9K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $246K | $127K | $63K | $57K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $240K | $246K | −$6K | −$608K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $551K | $675K | −$124K | −$602K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $542K | $740K | −$198K | −$478K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $567K | $907K | −$340K | −$280K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $811K | $966K | −$155K | $60K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $874K | $997K | −$123K | $120K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $240,185 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 13 of 13 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $240,185 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $246,402 across 11 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $56,035 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$608,301 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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