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Field Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History reported $114.8 million in revenue and $95.3 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $83.07 went to program services, $9.86 to management and general costs and $7.07 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 39.0% of the total. Government grants made up 5.2%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $874,416 (PRESIDENT + CEO). 53 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 28% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $95MFor context, the median across 876 covered arts, culture & humanities charities: $79.98 programs, $13.89 management, $6.13 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $115M- Contributions & grants (non-government)$33.64 $39M
- Government grants$5.23 $6.0M
- Program service revenue$26.40 $30M
- Investment income$34.73 $40M
Other revenue was negative: −$354K. The bar shows the positive sources only.
The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 83.1% | 78.5% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 9.9% | 13.6% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 7.1% | 6.0% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.15 | $0.10 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 39.0% | 57.5% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 5.2% | 1.7% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 26.5% | 20.8% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $874,416 | $385,706 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.92% | 2.03% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 53 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 95.6 | 36.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 79 of 80 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseScience & education: science and education consists of four complementary centers-the collections center, the integrative research center, the science action center, and the learning center. Together, these centers advance the museum's mission of understanding the past, exploring its present, and shaping a future for the earth. The collections amount to over 30,000,000 natural objects and man-made artifacts spanning the museum's four disciplines - anthropology, botany, geology, and zoology
Public programs: the museum brings science to life with more than 400,000 square feet of space devoted to exhibitions and other public programs. In 2024, the museum welcomed more than 1,220,000 visitors
Museum services: the museum has approximately 1,300,000 square feet for which museum services provides engineering, maintenance, and security, as well as directly supports the science and education and public programs
Highest reported compensation
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT + CEO Director/trustee, officer, 35.00 hrs/week | $840,238 | $0 | $34,178 | $874,416 |
| EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & COO Officer, 35.00 hrs/week | $377,394 | $0 | $29,815 | $407,209 |
| VP, INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Key employee, 35.00 hrs/week | $329,160 | $0 | $27,425 | $356,585 |
| CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER - PART YEAR Officer, 35.00 hrs/week | $282,727 | $0 | $38,425 | $321,152 |
| CURATOR & DIRECTOR, INTG. RESEARCH CENTER Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week | $248,612 | $0 | $40,516 | $289,128 |
| VP, SCIENCE & EDUCATION Key employee, 35.00 hrs/week | $253,417 | $0 | $35,059 | $288,476 |
| VP, PEOPLE & CULTURE Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week | $227,742 | $0 | $8,257 | $235,999 |
| HEAD OF EXHIBITIONS Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week | $190,633 | $0 | $30,412 | $221,045 |
53 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Field Museum of Natural History (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $2.2M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b80 · 79 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2Yes
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 5717
- Volunteers Part I, line 6425
Largest outside contractors
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| ARAMARK MANAGEMENT SERVICES Housekeeping services | $1,622,738 |
| ARS ADVERTISING LLC Advertising | $1,484,085 |
| GRACE CONSTRUCTION GROUP LLC Construction | $1,360,454 |
| MONTERREY SECURITY CONSULTANTS INC Security services | $1,236,786 |
| INTEGRATED ELECTRICAL SERVICES Electrical services | $1,008,738 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 51 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
46 private foundations reported grants to Field Museum of Natural History totaling $2.9M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Field Museum of Natural History's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Field Museum of Natural History, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Field Museum of Natural History spent in 2024, $83.07 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in Illinois
Questions people ask
How much of Field Museum of Natural History's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Field Museum of Natural History reported that 83.1% of its $95.3 million in expenses went to program services, 9.9% to management and general and 7.1% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Field Museum of Natural History pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Field Museum of Natural History reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $874,416, for the role of PRESIDENT + CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Field Museum of Natural History get its money?
Of $114.8 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 39.0% came from contributions and grants (including 5.2% from government grants) and 26.5% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Field Museum of Natural History a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 36-2167011 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202503119349303380 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202423139349300842 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202303129349304285 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202223149349305517 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202133159349303853 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202043189349302839 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 36-2167011: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.