Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To spark curiosity and inspire learning through exploration and creative play.
- Income
- $983,748
- Spending
- $771,865
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- 19.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 48%
- Employees
- 27
- Volunteers
- 597
- Highest pay
- $99,330, executive dir.
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 19.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 22% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 19 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
Good: 82 out of 100. Higher than 66% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2515 of 15 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no 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
12 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
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 (1)
- $610,928 spent. 2024 was a year of creativity and growth for the Shenandoah Discovery Museum. The museum had a direct impact on over 71,000 people through field trips, camps, STEAM nights and in person visits. Our total impact was beyond 102,500 people. We transformed our water shed area, installing a new custom-made water table reflecting the Chesapeake Watershed complete with a full-sized crab fishing boat. We also added a Food Truck to our Discover the Valley: Food for Thought exhibit on the second floor completing the farm to fork loop. Our new food truck invites visitors to cook their bounty collected from all of the other exhibit components throughout the floor. We celebrated our ribbon cutting on second floor with an enormous amount of community excitement for the new educational components. Our community also gathered to celebrate a fun Star Light Star Bright Illuminate the Night gala in September. We got the opportunity to welcome back a wonderful family who have supported and celebrated the museum several times through the years. This year they decided to kick off the Hess Family Summer Camp Scholarship fund. We continue to grow our attendance raising the number of active members families from 685 families in 2023 to 720 families in 2024. Our summer camps welcomed 503 total campers even though the local school systems shortened the summer vacation by almost 2 full weeks. We were able to offer 71 scholarships. We also welcomed 10% of our total attendance as Mission Driven attendance; including either free or reduced attendance for over 4,500 visitors. The Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum stays firmly committed to opening our doors as wide as possible and adding wonderful new ways to achieve our mission of: Sparking Curiosity and Inspiring Learning Through Exploration and Creative Play.
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 June 1994.
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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