Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 1947.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 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
8 people listed on the 990; $1.1M paid to officers and key staff.
Amanda Bosh’s $207K as Executive Director/COO is at the 12th percentile of top reported officer pay among 139 $10–100M science & technology 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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Bosh | $206,898 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hall Jeffrey | — | $201,538 | $200,833 | $189,691 | $165,023 | $163,080 |
| Leslie Currie | $190,704 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Currie Leslie | — | $188,531 | — | — | — | — |
| Massey Philip | — | $184,820 | $178,598 | $171,961 | $161,788 | $159,097 |
| Stephen Levine | $184,546 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keller Christoph | — | — | $169,086 | $183,459 | — | — |
| Bosh Amanda | — | $182,918 | $161,680 | $151,518 | — | — |
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
Studies astronomy to expand understanding of the universe.
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Continuing a more than 125-YEAR-LONG legacy of astronomical discovery, lowell observatory astronomers, planetary scientists, and other researchers conducted forefront research in many areas of astronomy - from the sun and solar system to exoplanets, stars, galaxies, and cosmology.
Lowell observatory developed a phased reopening plan based on CDC guidelines in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Public programs moved seamlessly through all three phases of this plan in 2021, transitioning from phase 1 to phase 2 in april and from phase 2 to phase 3 in november.
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 | $2.8M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $5.3M | $9.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $47.6M | $49.8M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $70.1M | $78.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $23.2M | $25.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $46.9M | $52.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $360K | $22K | $310K | $27K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $7.0M | $5.6M | $746K | $732K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $309K | $244K | $34K | $31K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $664K | $519K | $78K | $67K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $518K | $389K | $78K | $51K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $54K | $14K | $40K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $59K | $59K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $4K | $4K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $815K | $566K | $211K | $37K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $56K | $45K | $11K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $392K | $255K | $44K | $93K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $270K | $131K | $63K | $76K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $725K | $654K | $59K | $13K |
| TravelLn 17 | $80K | $29K | $14K | $37K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $57K | $10K | $12K | $34K |
| InterestLn 20 | $88K | $67K | $21K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2.1M | $2.1M | $44K | $17K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $807K | $795K | $10K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $433K | $354K | $72K | $7K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $38K | $25K | $1K | $12K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $16.1M | $12.9M | $1.9M | $1.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $19.6M | $22.2M | −$2.7M | $45.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $11.9M | $19.5M | −$7.5M | $48.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $20.2M | $18.6M | $1.5M | $56.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $20.0M | $19.2M | $847K | $55.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $22.8M | $16.1M | $6.7M | $52.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $16.1M | $13.5M | $2.7M | $46.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $22,823,113 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 0 of 1 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $22,823,113 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $16,074,661 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $78,377,713 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $52,868,862 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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