Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 1997.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
64 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Who runs it and what they're paid
19 people listed on the 990; $149K paid to officers and key staff.
Tim Sears’s $173K as President and CEO is at the 76th 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Sears | $173,415 | — | — | — | — |
| Henry Schulson | — | $153,407 | $154,595 | — | $128,800 |
| Henry Schulson | — | — | — | $149,014 | — |
| Tim Sears | — | $20,909 | — | — | — |
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 children to explore, innovate, create, and play through interactive experiences.
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The Museum achieves its mission first through its permanent exhibition program focusing on arts, sciences, early childhood, health, and the environment and through traveling exhibits that complement and supplement the education content of its core exhibits.
The Creative Discovery Museum uses proven, evidence-based principles to engage the senses, inspire exploration, and ignite childrens passion for learning. While some guests may view a visit to the museum as merely a fun outing, research has long proven that play is the work of childhood.
CDM is committed to being as accessible as possible to families. Each year, the Museum provides more than 50,000 free or discounted admissions. The Museum is free to the public on the second Thursday evening of every month, and every year more than 11,000 visitors take advantage of the Museums for All program anyone with an EBT or food…
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Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.5M | $2.5M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $6.6M | $6.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $6.5M | $8.2M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $18.5M | $21.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.1M | $1.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $17.4M | $20.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | |||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $149K | $30K | $60K | $60K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.5M | $1.2M | $121K | $222K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $0 | |||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $201K | $38K | $154K | $9K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $111K | $83K | $12K | $17K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $116K | $116K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $6K | $6K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $17K | $17K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $5K | $5K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $27K | $27K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $69K | $69K | $99 | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $56K | $56K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $124K | $84K | $34K | $6K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $44K | $17K | $27K | |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $233K | $119K | $114K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $163 | $1K | $751 |
| InterestLn 20 | $33K | $33K | ||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $493K | $410K | $74K | $10K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $17K | $17K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $201K | $159K | $38K | $4K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $71K | $20K | $51K | $252 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.5M | $2.2M | $871K | $382K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $5.4M | $6.4M | −$1.0M | $20.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $5.3M | $5.9M | −$599K | $20.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $6.3M | $4.4M | $1.8M | $20.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $5.7M | $3.5M | $2.2M | $20.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $5.0M | $3.6M | $1.5M | $17.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,712,908 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,477,227 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $21,187,184 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $20,155,756 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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