Norman B Leventhal Map & Education Center Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library shall inspire curiosity and learning, and foster geographic perspectives on the relationships between people and places, through free and accessible collections and resources, critical interpretation and research, and K-12 public education.
- Income
- $1.8 million
- Spending
- $1.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 71%
- Reserves
- 43.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 49%
- Employees
- 26
- Volunteers
- 24
- Highest pay
- $195,375, president
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 91% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 43.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 27% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 28% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1571% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 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 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2524 of 24 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)
- $317,159 spent. Collections: The Center stewards the cartographic collections of the Boston Public Library, encompassing a quarter million maps and other objects, ensuring the preservation, cataloging, organization and digitization of the collection. Areas of particular strength are our four "Collections of Distinction": Boston & New England, the American Revolutionary era, urban maps and maritime maps. Public access is a major part of our mission and we offer reference services for the collection including assistance in geographic information services (GIS) and support fellowships to carry out research in the collection to develop new scholarship.The Center also has an extensive digital resources available on our website for public and educational use, increasing access to our collections and educational materials. Our digital collection includes 12,000 digitized maps including our American Revolutionary War era cross-institutional collection of more than 2,000 digitized maps from partner institutions such as the British Library and Library of Congress. Many digitized maps have been georeferenced, enabling overlays of modern maps, and some are also mosaicked and tiled to enhance digital access. This includes maps from our urban atlas collection, which can be explored as overlays of different maps over time using our mobile app/web tool Atlascope. In addition, all past and current exhibitions are available in digital form on our website. Digitized material from our collections has been used in numerous web and print publications and digital humanities projects.
- $470,848 spent. Exhibitions and Public Outreach: The Center has presented 26 exhibitions since 2004. Exhibitions have traveled to New York, Washington DC, and Williamsburg as well as to other locations within the city of Boston. Showcasing items from the collection, exhibitions have highlighted such important subjects as the Revolutionary War and Civil War periods, 19th and 20th century immigration, voting patterns and rights, women's role in cartography, mapping of climate patterns, urban green spaces and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century. Audiences upwards of 60,000 attend each gallery exhibition, including area residents, library patrons, tourists, researchers, students and teachers.All exhibitions are accompanied by a series of lectures and panel discussions with scholars and authors that explore themes related to the exhibition, with emphasis on relevance to contemporary issues. In addition, local micro-history and geography are explored in community events that use our Atlascope tool. Community partnerships add breadth and depth to both public and educational program offerings, including partnerships with faculty from area universities, and staff of municipal and non-profit organizations.
- $169,629 spent. Education Outreach: The Center is recognized as a national leader in innovative education programs that use cartographic materials and methods. Our K-12 programs are based in best practices for primary sources and inquiry-based teaching and fulfill local and national standards. These programs harness the power of maps and mapping to make a broad range of topics come alive in the K-12 classroom and onsite. The center offers professional development for educators via institutes, workshops and fellowships. We develop map sets and curriculum materials, often in collaboration with teacher advisors and fellows. Our online resources include a wide variety of maps sets, lesson plans and tools to help teacher use maps effectively in their classrooms. (Continued on Schedule O)Half of our educational service is to the Boston public schools, and to these and to other schools in need, education programs are offered free of charge.
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 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 June 2025.
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 March 2008.
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.
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