Cincinnati Observatory Center

Tax-deductible

Cincinnati, OH501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 31-1665954Revenue $1.1M in FY2024

On file with the IRScincinnatiobservatory.org3489 Observatory Pl, 45208-2563 · Cincinnati, OHTax-exempt since Dec 1999Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Historic preservation of Cincinnati Observatory and stem education in the field of astronomy.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
74¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 100 volunteers and 8 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 7
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $184K a year · 23% of revenue · last 7 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 7 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 7 filings
Spent on programs
74%
of spending
Fine: 74% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$100K
to officers and key staff · 10% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 67% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 10% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
7
named funders · $294K
Looks good: 7 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$451K
32% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 32% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
16
of 16 voting members
Looks good: 16 of 16 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.1M
+43% vs prior year
Spent
$965K
To programs
74%
Net assets
$957K
By yearFY2018–FY2024
Revenue
$1.1M
FY2024▲ +43%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2018$1.5M
FY2019$556K
FY2020$588K
FY2021$489K
FY2022$630K
FY2023$756K
FY2024$1.1M
Expenses
$965K
FY2024▲ +11%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2018$569K
FY2019$635K
FY2020$740K
FY2021$2.3M
FY2022$804K
FY2023$872K
FY2024$965K
Net assets
$957K
FY2024▲ +23%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2018$2.7M
FY2019$2.8M
FY2020$2.8M
FY2021$930K
FY2022$826K
FY2023$779K
FY2024$957K

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Dec 1999.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 74% · $710K Management & general 18% · $174K Fundraising 8% · $81K

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

17 people listed on the 990; $100K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$100,191Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer and Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President and Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Anna Hehman’s $100K as Executive Director is at the 33rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2019FY2018
Anna Hehman$100,191——
Craig Niemi—$68,775$72,271

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.

See Cincinnati Observatory Center executive salaries →

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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

Preserves a historic observatory and teaches astronomy STEM.

Questions for Cincinnati Observatory Center

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $710K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Educational Outreach

The observatory provides hands-on learning opportunities in the stem (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines aligned with oh, ky & in k-12 curriculum standards. We offer a variety of standard and customized programs which center around the definition of science, inquiry, the scientific method, critical thinking and…

$263Kprogram expense
02

General Public

The observatory worked with over 37,000 people total in 2024 through programming including significant outreach for the total solar eclipse in april. We added new programming including family astronomy nights, attic to basement tours and new class topics.

$250Kprogram expense
03

Historic Facility

We continued to be intentional of our role as stewards of our national historic landmark buildings. We began work to update our basement to display and preserve our collection items. We also conducted important work to repair and maintain our historic telescopes.

$196Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$865K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$149K
Other incomeLn 4–11$57K
Money outPt IX
$965K
Ln 25
Programscol B$710K
Managementcol C$174K
Fundraisingcol D$81K
Owns and owesPt X
$957K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$161K
Total assetsLn 16$1.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$451K
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a16
IndependentVI 1b16
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$865K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$224K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$149K
Investment incomeLn 3$6K
Other incomeLn 4–11$57K
Gains on assetsLn 7$5K
Total revenueLn 12$1.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$81K
SavingsLn 2$80K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$161K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$148K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$492K
Other assetsLn 15$600K
Total assetsLn 16$1.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$451K
Net assetsLn 32$957K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 58
VolunteersI 6100
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$84K$161K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$148K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$517K$492K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M$1.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$469K$451K
Net assetsLn 32$779K$957K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$100K$76K$14K$10K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$430K$327K$60K$43K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$59K$45K$8K$6K
Payroll taxesLn 10$41K$31K$6K$4K
Accounting feesLn 11c$47K$47K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$189$189
Office expensesLn 13$12K$8K$2K$1K
Information technologyLn 14$31K$24K$8K
OccupancyLn 16$103K$88K$10K$5K
TravelLn 17$12K$12K$521
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$31K$26K$3K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$9K$5K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$85K$69K$12K$4K
All other expensesLn 24e$6K$6K
Total functional expensesLn 25$965K$710K$174K$81K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $1.1M$965K$112K$957K 990 PDF
FY2023 $756K$872K−$116K$779K 990 PDF
FY2022 $630K$804K−$174K$826K 990 PDF
FY2021 $489K$2.3M−$1.8M$930K 990 PDF
FY2020 $588K$740K−$152K$2.8M 990 PDF
FY2019 $556K$635K−$79K$2.8M 990 PDF
FY2018 $1.5M$569K$902K$2.7M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,076,941 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $554,091$865,186
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $129,704$148,849
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$5,994
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $71,775$56,912
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $755,570$1,076,941
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $556,689$629,590
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $315,111$335,384
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $871,800$964,974
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$116,230$111,967
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body16
VI-1b Independent voting members16
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,076,941 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $20,425 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$89,821
VIII-1d Related organizations$182,097
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$593,268
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$224,426
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$865,186
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $148,849$148,849
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,161$1,161
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $21,756$21,756
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $4,833$4,833
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $14,731$14,731
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $148,849 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $62,906$1,076,941
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $964,974 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $76,185 · Management $13,937 · Fundraising $10,069$100,191
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $327,042 · Management $59,815 · Fundraising $43,223$430,080
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $44,637 · Management $8,164 · Fundraising $5,900$58,701
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $30,887 · Management $5,649 · Fundraising $4,082$40,618
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $46,715$46,715
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $189$189
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $8,453 · Management $2,414 · Fundraising $1,208$12,075
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $23,531 · Management $7,843$31,374
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $87,855 · Management $10,335 · Fundraising $5,168$103,358
IX-17 TravelPrograms $11,543 · Management $521$12,064
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $25,977 · Management $3,056 · Fundraising $1,528$30,561
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $4,873 · Management $3,677$8,550
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $68,573 · Management $11,838 · Fundraising $4,489$84,900
IX-24e All other expensesFundraising $5,598$5,598
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $709,556 · Management $173,964 · Fundraising $81,454$964,974
Part X · Balance sheet $1,407,750 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $84,157$80,873
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$80,400
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $8,530$6,992
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $8,566$15
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $517,062$491,558
X-11 Publicly traded securities$148,179
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $629,259$599,733
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,247,574$1,407,750
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $23,105$19,425
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $45,487$45,803
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $400,460$385,434
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $469,052$450,662
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $319,831$514,092
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $458,691$442,996
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $778,522$957,088
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,247,574$1,407,750
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $957,088 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,076,941
XI-2 Total expenses$964,974
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$111,967
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$778,522
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$1,841
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$68,440
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$957,088

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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