Large Binocular Telescope Corporation

Tucson, AZ · EIN 86-0724677 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2025 (tax year 2025) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Large Binocular Telescope Corporation reported $15.0 million in revenue and $20.7 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $89.79 went to program services, $10.21 to management and general costs and $0.00 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 98.9% of the total. Government grants made up 49.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $30,000 (Chiarman & President). Revenue fell 19% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $21M

Program services$89.79 $19M
Management & general$10.21 $2.1M
Fundraising$0.00 $0

For context, the median across 192 covered science & technology charities: $84.33 programs, $15.67 management, $0.00 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $15M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$49.45 $7.4M
Government grants$49.44 $7.4M
Investment income$0.95 $143K
Other revenue$0.16 $23,654

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2025 filing. Median across 192 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2025	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	89.8%	83.2%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	10.2%	15.5%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.0%	0.0%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.00	$0.00
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	98.9%	51.6%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	49.4%	3.2%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.0%	19.2%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$30,000	$513,729
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	0.14%	1.72%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	0	27
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	47.1	14.7
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	11 of 12	94.3%

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

2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$19M expenses · 100.0% of program spending · grants $10,000

A total of 277.5 nights were offered to the LBTO partners and science staff in 2025 for scientific observations, while 20.5 were devoted to engineering work. Poor weather resulted in a loss of 36% of scheduled science time, which is better than the long-term average. A total of 60 scientific papers based on LBT data were published in 2025 in refereed journals

Highest reported compensation

2025 · 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
Chiarman & President Director/trustee, officer, 4.00 hrs/week	$30,000	$0	$0	$30,000

0 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Large Binocular Telescope Corporation (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $30,000 (Part IX, line 5).

7 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2025 ⓘ	$15M	$21M	89.8%	$81M	$30,000
2024 ⓘ	$15M	$22M	90.1%	$87M	$27,500
2023 ⓘ	$24M	$23M	90.5%	$94M	$20,000
2022 ⓘ	$12M	$20M	90.2%	$92M	$20,000
2021 ⓘ	$12M	$20M	89.8%	$97M	$20,000
2020 ⓘ	$12M	$20M	89.8%	$105M	$20,000
2019 ⓘ	$18M	$20M	89.1%	$112M	$20,000

Governance answers, as filed

2025 · 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–1b12 · 11 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13No
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aNo
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
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 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
Employees Part I, line 50
Volunteers Part I, line 613

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Large Binocular Telescope Corporation's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Large Binocular Telescope Corporation, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Large Binocular Telescope…How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

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Questions people ask

How much of Large Binocular Telescope Corporation's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2025, Large Binocular Telescope Corporation reported that 89.8% of its $20.7 million in expenses went to program services, 10.2% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Large Binocular Telescope Corporation pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Large Binocular Telescope Corporation reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $30,000, for the role of Chiarman & President (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Large Binocular Telescope Corporation get its money?

Of $15.0 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 98.9% came from contributions and grants (including 49.4% from government grants) and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Large Binocular Telescope Corporation a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 86-0724677 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, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202612239349301116 · read the filing
2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202522109349300232 · read the filing
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202421739349301502 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202313179349302996 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202243139349302164 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202103169349311155 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202043189349307514 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 86-0724677: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.