Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Nov 1988.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
75 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
18 people listed on the 990; $234K paid to officers and key staff.
Tara Knuth’s $123K as Chiel Executive Officer is at the 50th 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tara Knuth | $122,579 | $120,000 | $101,025 | $94,600 | $89,069 |
| Mandy Haase Thomas | $111,392 | — | — | — | — |
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
Offers a place for children and caregivers to learn through active discovery and experimentation.
Questions for Lincoln Childrens Museum
Your first name shows with your question. Lincoln Childrens Museum answers here, for everyone.
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Provide an educational setting whereby children can learn about the natural, scientific and cultural aspects of the world through hands-on experiences and exhibits. In the current year, there was donated in-kind rent and services in the amount of $685,518.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $2.9M | $3.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $3.9M | $3.6M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $9.3M | $9.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $531K | $344K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $8.8M | $9.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $136K | $66K | $70K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $652K | $454K | $198K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $61K | $40K | $5K | $15K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $57K | $38K | $5K | $14K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $43K | $9K | $26K | $9K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $165K | $79K | $85K | $2K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $61K | $46K | $355 | $15K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $53K | $14K | $28K | $11K |
| TravelLn 17 | $6K | $4K | $298 | $1K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $8K | $6K | $425 | $2K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $667K | $652K | $9K | $6K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $33K | $32K | $331 | $330 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $173K | $146K | $1K | $25K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $59K | $53K | $2K | $4K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.2M | $1.6M | $233K | $303K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $2.0M | $2.2M | −$156K | $9.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.9M | $1.7M | $136K | $8.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.4M | $2.2M | $146K | $8.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $2.5M | $2.0M | $524K | $8.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.2M | $1.5M | −$305K | $6.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,020,864 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,020,864 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,176,513 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $9,512,032 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $9,168,068 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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