Smithsonian Institution EIN 53-0206027 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Smithsonian Institution FY2021 filing

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Operates world-class museums, research complexes, and national educational programs to preserve heritage and share knowledge globally. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $1.8B in revenue, $1.4B in expenses, and $5.5B in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1846
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Arts & Culture
Location
Washington, DC
Website
www.si.edu
Filings
5 on file (2020–2021)
Revenue
$1.8BFY2021
Expenses
$1.4B
Net assets
$5.5B
People
48
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  53-0206027 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Washington, DC Founded 1846
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Operates world-class museums, research complexes, and national educational programs to preserve heritage and share knowledge globally.
Leadership
Mr Lonnie G Bunch III · Secretary of the Smithsonian · $726K
Money in and out
$1.8B revenue, $1.4B expenses
Bottom line
68% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$1.8B
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.4B
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$5.5B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $388.6M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.68 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
68%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
32.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+22%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.8B
FY2021▲ +16%
Expenses
$1.4B
FY2021▲ +2%
Total assets
$7.1B
FY2021▲ +17%
Total liabilities
$1.6B
FY2021▲ +10%
Total revenue
$1.8B
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.4B
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$5.5B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$388.6M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$7.1B
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B68%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 317
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 417

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CSmithsonian Institution
EINHdr · item D53-0206027
Principal addressHdr · item CWashington, DC
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.si.edu
Year of formationHdr · item L1846
State of legal domicileHdr · item MDC
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A50Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJan 1924

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a17
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b17
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Secretary of the Smithsonian
$726,156Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Investment Officer
$673,679Pt VII · Sec A
Investment Officer
$615,259Pt VII · Sec A
Investment Officer
$530,390Pt VII · Sec A
President, Smithsonian Enterprises
$501,299Pt VII · Sec A
Investment Officer
$472,123Pt VII · Sec A
Deputy Secretary & COO
$448,911Pt VII · Sec A
Interim Director, Cooper Hewitt
$417,958Pt VII · Sec A

Lonnie G Bunch III’s $960K as Secretary of the Smithsonian is at the 68th percentile of top reported officer pay among 53 $100M+ 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Amy Chen$738,911$1,147,877$1,110,792$778,762$673,679
Lonnie G Bunch III$960,266
Mr Lonnie G Bunch III$915,469$861,379$738,754$726,156
Mr Lonnie G Bunch III$857,930
Jeffrey Smith$449,717$699,892$680,092$422,679$615,259
Amy Chen$662,776
Michael Giovenco$647,978$625,494$530,390
Meroe Park$640,049$613,661$580,769$528,377$448,911

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $966.2M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Research and collections (see schedule o)

$558.3Mprogram expense
02

Education, public programs and exhibitions (see schedule o)

$344.1Mprogram expense
03

Membership (see schedule o)

$63.7Mprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$1.5B · 85%
Investment income$173.9M · 10%
Program service revenue$72.9M · 4%
Other revenue$30.2M · 2%
Contributions & grants85%$1.5B
Investment income10%$173.9M
Program service revenue4%$72.9M
Other revenue2%$30.2M
— government grantsLn 1e$1.1B
Total revenueLn 12$1.8B

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.68 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.04
Program services68%$966.2M
Management & general27%$389.2M
Fundraising4%$60.7M
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.4B

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$908.2M
Total assetsLn 16$7.1B
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.6B
Total net assetsLn 32$5.5B
Months of cash on handcomputed7.7

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $3.8B · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $1.4B · Less non-cash grants $14.4M · Cash operating expenses/yr $1.4B
32.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $966.2M · Total expenses $1.4B
68%
Management & General
Management & general $389.2M · Total expenses $1.4B
27%
Fundraising
Fundraising $60.7M · Total expenses $1.4B
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $49.4M · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $302.0M
$0.16 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.5B · Total revenue $1.8B
85%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.1B · Total revenue $1.8B
63%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $72.9M · Total revenue $1.8B
4%
Investment reliance
Investment income $173.9M · Total revenue $1.8B
+10%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $72.9M · Total expenses $1.4B
5%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.8B · Prior year $1.6B
+16%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $5.5B · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.8B · Expenses $1.4B
+22%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $7.1B
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $5.5B · Total assets $7.1B
78%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $14.0M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $2.8B · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $7.1B
40%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mr Lonnie G Bunch III · Reported title SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN · Highest reported compensation $726K · Total expenses $1.4B
0.05%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $735.5M · Total expenses $1.4B
52%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 68%
Overhead ratio 27%
Fundraising cost ratio 4%
Revenue growth 16%
Investment management fee ratio 0.05%
Legal fee ratio 0.02%
Accounting fee ratio 0.09%
Fundraising fee ratio 0.1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 16 funders →
Grants paid · 96 grants · $80.4M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$14,345,407
Florida State UniversityFL · FY2024$100,000
Tuskegee UniversityAL · FY2024$86,200
Texas Southern UniversityFY2024$63,700
Jackson State UniversityMS · FY2024$63,700
Clark Atlanta University INCGA · FY2024$63,700
Montana State UniversityFY2024$30,863
Fisk UniversityTN · FY2024$20,500
Baylor UniversityTX · FY2024$11,975
Chicago Historical SocietyIL · FY2024$5,100
Unitemized GrantFY2023$13,800,101
Tuskegee UniversityAL · FY2023$73,950
Texas Southern UniversityFY2023$63,700
Jackson State UniversityMS · FY2023$63,700
See all 96 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$2.0B revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$1.9B revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$1.9B revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$1.8B revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$1.6B revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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