American Museum of Natural History
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MUSEUM'S MISSION STATEMENT IS: "TO DISCOVER, INTERPRET, AND DISSEMINATE - THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION - KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HUMAN CULTURES, THE NATURAL WORLD, AND THE UNIVERSE."
- Income
- $246.8 million
- Spending
- $278.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 83%
- Reserves
- -11.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 43%
- Employees
- 1,337
- Volunteers
- 804
- Highest pay
- $1.8 million, dir. of the mus. (end 6/30/24)
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 44 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 33% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 13% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 4% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1583% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 33% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2545 of 47 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $94.8 million spent. SCIENCE - SINCE ITS FOUNDING, THE MUSEUM HAS PURSUED A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAM TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, AND CULTURAL WORLD. THE MUSEUM'S FULL-TIME SCIENTIFIC STAFF OF APPROX. 170 WORK IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, PALEONTOLOGY, ASTROPHYSICS, EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND PUBLISH IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS. ANNUALLY, AMNH SCIENTISTS CONDUCT MORE THAN 50 EXPEDITIONS, ENHANCING THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 30 MILLION SPECIMENS AND ARTIFACTS. THE MUSEUM OFFERS ITS PH.D. AND MASTER'S PROGRAMS THROUGH ITS GILDER GRADUATE SCHOOL, THE ONLY FREESTANDING PH.D. AND MAT DEGREE PROGRAM OF ANY MUSEUM IN THE U.S.
- $73.8 million spent. EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS - THE MUSEUM WELCOMED OVER 291,000 FIELD TRIP PARTICIPANTS IN FY25. HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE EXPLORATION OF SCIENCE AND MUSEUM CAREERS. EDUCATOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMS SERVED THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS ONSITE AND ONLINE. URBAN ADVANTAGE, A SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM REACHED 87,240 STUDENTS FROM 324 SCHOOLS ACROSS NYC. THE MUSEUM'S MAT PROGRAM HELPS TRAIN EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS FOR PLACEMENT IN HIGH NEEDS SCHOOLS. LECTURES AND PUBLIC EVENTS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH SCIENCE TOPICS.
- $63.0 million spent. EXHIBITION - THE MUSEUM IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 363 DAYS A YEAR WITH MORE THAN 40 PERMANENT EXHIBITION HALLS. THE MUSEUM HAS A ROBUST SCHEDULE OF SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS AND PLANETARIUM SHOWS IT DESIGNS AND PRODUCES, WHICH ALSO TRAVEL TO VENUES AROUND THE U.S. AND INTERNATIONALLY, SUPPLEMENTED WITH EDUCATIONAL CONTENT, AND OTHER WEB-BASED RESOURCES FOR LEARNING.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 1943.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.