Foundation for the Reading Public Museum
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE READING PUBLIC MUSEUM IS A DYNAMIC CENTER OF LIFELONG LEARNING THAT COLLECTS, PRESERVES, AND INTERPRETS OBJECTS OF ART, SCIENCE, AND CIVILIZATION TO ENGAGE, EDUCATE, AND ENLIGHTEN CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS FROM OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
- Income
- $4.0 million
- Spending
- $4.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 88%
- Reserves
- 3.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 56%
- Employees
- 46
- Volunteers
- 150
- Highest pay
- $183,699, exec. director & ceo as of march
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 64 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 7% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 11% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 23 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 December 31, 2024, 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 (2)
- $3.4 million spent. PROGRAM SERVICES:ADMISSIONS AND TOURS - TOURS ARE AVAILABLE TO PRE-K TO SENIOR GROUPS, CUSTOMIZED TO MEET THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE SPECIFIC GROUP AND PROVIDED BY PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED MUSEUM PERSONNEL. TO ASSIST SCHOOLS IN COVERING THE COSTS OF TOURS, THE MUSEUM OFFERS A FUNDING PROGRAM CALLED "FEED THEIR IMAGINATION" (FTI). THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF DONORS, THE FTI PROGRAM ALLOWS GROUPS TO VISIT THE MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM BY COVERING EXPENSES SUCH AS ADMISSION AND BUSSING COSTS. THIS FUNDING PROGRAM IS INTEGRAL TO KEEPING OUR EDUCATION AND COLLECTION ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BRINGING STUDENTS INTO THE MUSEUM WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY. SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON SCHEDULE O.APPROXIMATELY 30% OF TOURS ANNUALLY ARE PARTIALLY OR COMPLETELY UNDERWRITTEN BY THE MUSEUM'S FEED THEIR IMAGINATION FUND. THE MUSEUM AND NEAG PLANETARIUM RECEIVE BETWEEN 60,000 AND 100,000 VISITORS PER YEAR. WHILE NO OFFICIAL COUNT IS KEPT, ANNUAL VISITS TO THE MUSEUM ARBORETUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN EASILY EXCEED 120,000 PER YEAR, AND LIKELY TOTAL MULTIPLES OF THAT NUMBER. THE ARBORETUM, A VALUABLE COMMUNITY RESOURCE, IS MAINTAINED AND MANAGED BY NEARLY 150 ARBORETUM ASSISTANTS THROUGH THE MASTER GARDNERS PROGRAM OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY THROUGH PENN STATE UNIVERSITY AT NO COST TO THE PUBLIC.TEMPORARY/SPECIAL EXHIBITS AND PERMANENT COLLECTION - THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THE MUSEUM PROVIDES PATRONS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE TWO KINDS OF EXHIBITS. THE MUSEUM HAS PERMANENT GALLERIES WHICH FEATURE AND EDUCATE ABOUT UNIQUE ITEMS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, INCLUDING A MUMMIFIED PERSON WHO IS OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD. PATRONS CAN ALSO ENJOY TEMPORARY/SPECIAL EXHIBITS FROM EXTERNAL INSTITUTIONS SPANNING MANY TOPICS AND TARGET AUDIENCES. RPM PRESENTS ROUGHLY 12 TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS EACH YEAR, INCLUDING ONES DRAWN FROM BOTH EXTERNAL SOURCES AND THOSE CURATED FROM OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION. ADDITIONALLY, WORKS OF ART ARE ACQUIRED EACH YEAR BY GIFT AND PURCHASE FOR THE MUSEUM'S PERMANENT COLLECTION. AN EVER-INCREASING NUMBER OF OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION ARE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC VIA EMUSEUM AND THE GOOGLE ART PROJECT, WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE ADDED ANNUALLY. TRAVELING EXHIBITS - THE MUSEUM MAKES AVAILABLE INTERNALLY CURATED EXHIBITIONS TO OTHER MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD. ALLOWING EXHIBITIONS TO TOUR PROVIDES THE MUSEUM THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND OUR MISSION BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE REGION OF BERKS COUNTY. AMONG THOSE INSTITUTIONS THAT REGULARLY TAKE OUR EXHIBITIONS ARE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUMS, AS WELL AS OTHER ESTABLISHED FINE ART MUSEUMS. RECENT HOSTS OF OUR TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE THE WASHINGTON COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (HAGERSTOWN, MD) THE MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY (WINCHESTER, VA) AND THE MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. JOSEPH (HARTFORD, CT). WE ALSO LOAN INDIVIDUAL ARTWORKS FOR EXHIBITION TO MUSEUMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING SUCH PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AS THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART (CLEVELAND, OH) AND THE MUSEE DORSAY (PARIS, FR).
- $365,128 spent. CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS:SENSORY EVENTS - SPECIAL PROGRAMMING, AMONG OTHER SENSORY-INCLUSIVE EVENTS, DESIGNED FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A RANGE OF SENSORY SENSITIVITIES WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY THE MUSEUM. CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND CAREGIVERS CAN ATTEND EVENTS THAT ARE IN A QUIET, UNCROWDED ENVIRONMENT. SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON SCHEDULE O.FAMILY HOLIDAY EVENTS - DESIGNED FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY, THESE EVENTS PROVIDE A SPECIAL PLACE FOR FAMILIES TO CELEBRATE DIFFERENT HOLIDAYS. THERE ARE USUALLY AT LEAST SIX HOLIDAY EVENTS EACH YEAR INCLUDING EASTER AT THE MUSEUM, TRICK OR TREAT AT THE MUSEUM, PICTURES WITH SANTA, AND NOON YEAR'S EVE. THESE PROGRAMS ARE A SAFE SPACE FOR CHILDREN TO CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS AND RECEIVE TAKE-HOME EDUCATIONAL KITS AND TREATS.SUMMER CAMP - MUSEUM DISCOVERY CAMP OFFERS TEN ONE-WEEK CAMP EXPERIENCES FOCUSING ON A DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT EACH WEEK. THE CAMPS KEEP CHILDREN ENGAGED IN LEARNING OVER THE SUMMER BY EXPLORING EACH WEEK'S FOCUS USING THE EXHIBITS AND COLLECTIONS OWNED BY THE MUSEUM AS WELL AS HANDS ON EXPERIMENTS AND CRAFTS. SCOUT WORKSHOPS AND OVERNIGHT STAYS - SCOUT WORKSHOPS AND OVERNIGHTS OFFER A WIDE VARIETY OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES SET IN A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT. SOME TOPICS INCLUDE SCIENCE, ARBORETUM EXPLORATION, AND SPACE EXPLORATION THROUGH THE PLANETARIUM. IN THE MUSEUM, SCOUTS EXPLORE TOPICS SUCH AS ENGINEERING, ART, AND BOOK-BINDING. THE MUSEUM EVEN OFFERS ITS OWN SCOUT BADGES TO ATTENDEES. HOME SCHOOL DAYS - HOME SCHOOL DAYS ARE OFFERED AT LEAST TWICE A MONTH DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. THESE PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO SUPPLEMENT HOME SCHOOL LEARNING BY PROVIDING ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN VARIOUS SUBJECTS THROUGH SPECIAL MUSEUM TOURS AND HANDS-ON PROJECTS. ADULTS AND CHILDREN:EXHIBITION PREVIEWS - PRIOR TO THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF A NEW EXHIBITION, THE MUSEUM HOLDS A MEMBERS' ONLY PREVIEW PRIOR TO THE MUSEUM OPENING THE EXHIBIT. MEMBERS AND CHILDREN GET FIRST ACCESS TO THE NEW EXHIBITION, OFTEN WITH SPECIAL ASSOCIATED PROGRAMMING DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED FOR THAT SPECIFIC EXHIBITION. STEM SUNDAY - STEM SUNDAYS OFFER SCIENCE RELATED THEMES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS. CONTENT OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDES ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS. THESE PROGRAMS MAY BE OFFERED MULTIPLE TIMES PER YEAR DEPENDING ON AVAILABILITY AND INTEREST.ADULT PROGRAMS:SPECIAL EVENTS - THE MUSEUM HOSTS INTERNAL EVENTS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY EVERY YEAR. THREE OF THESE SPECIAL EVENTS HAVE BECOME STAPLES IN THE MUSEUM'S CALENDAR AS WELL AS IN THE COMMUNITY: GOLFIN' IN THE GALLERIES, DOGS & BREWS, AND NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. THESE EVENTS RAISE SIGNIFICANT FUNDS FOR THE MUSEUM AND SOLIDIFY THE RELATIONSHIPS THE MUSEUM HAS BUILT WITH OUR LOCAL SUPPORTERS. SENIOR SERIES - THIS MONTHLY EVENT INVITES SENIORS AND ANYONE INTERESTED TO VISIT THE MUSEUM AND LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT TOPICS. THESE TOPICS TYPICALLY INCLUDE INFORMATION ON CURRENT SPECIAL EXHIBITS, SCREENINGS OF FILMS, LECTURES, AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES GLIMPSES OF THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION. THE EVENT IS FREE WITH PAID MUSEUM ADMISSION OR MEMBERSHIP. ARBORETUM EDUCATION - THIS PROGRAM FEATURES PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURES BY MASTER GARDENERS AND OTHER INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS, UTILIZING THE ARBORETUM AND GREENHOUSE RESOURCES. THEY ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.YOGA UNDER THE STARS - HELD IN THE NEAG PLANETARIUM DOME AND LED BY A CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR, PARTICIPANTS RELAX AND EXERCISE UNDER THE VIEWS OF THE PLANETARIUM. EACH SERIES CONSISTS OF 5-6 WEEKLY SESSIONS. BUS TRIPS - TRIPS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ALLOW MUSEUM PATRONS TO VISIT OTHER MUSEUMS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AND PHILADELPHIA TO EXPERIENCE A SPECIAL EXHIBIT OR JUST A GENERAL VISIT TO EXPERIENCE THAT MUSEUM. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING EACH YEAR WE ALSO OFFER LIMITED OR ONE-OFF PROGRAMS, DESIGNED THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS. PREVIOUS PROGRAMS HAVE INCLUDED THE MEXICAN CHILDREN'S OPERA "THE BEAR PRINCE," CO-ORGANIZED WITH THE BERKS OPERA COMPANY; THE COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS PROGRAM, WHICH TAKES PLACE AT SPECIFIC SCHOOL LOCATIONS IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA; AND TEACHER IN-SERVICE & APPRECIATION DAYS WHERE TEACHERS AND OTHER INSTRUCTORS FROM LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS ATTEND AN IN-SERVICE AT THE MUSEUM LEARNING ABOUT SPECIFIC TOPICS, EDUCATION TRENDS, AND MUSEUM PROGRAMS.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 1989.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 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.