Mission: The mission of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is to honor our heroes, educate the public and inspire our youth. As an educational and cultural not-for-profit institution, the Museum is dedicated to promoting the awareness and understanding of history, science and service through its collections, exhibitions and programming.
Founded in 1982 and located on the Hudson River in New York City, the Museum is one of the world's most successful historic ship museums, drawing more than one million visitors annually. The Museum's exhibitions feature a former aircraft carrier USS Intrepid designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, the NASA space shuttle Enterprise (included in 2013 in the National Register of Historic Places), a collection of 27 World War II and Cold War era aircraft, the Cold War era submarine Growler, a British Airways Concorde and a Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft that traveled from the International Space Station in 2005.
Intrepid Museum Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1979, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Contact Information
One Intrepid Square
West 46th Street & Twelfth Avenue
New York NY 10036
Important note on the timeliness of ratings
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Intrepid Museum Foundation is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Good
This charity's score is 87.35, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 82.37 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 97.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
85.0%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
10.3%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
4.6%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
21.8%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.29
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
1.57 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
1.87%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Susan Marenoff-Zausner, President
$623,375 (1.86% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Described in section 509(a)(2) of the Code (BMF activity code: 995)
Foundation Status:
Organization that normally receives no more than one-third of its support from gross investment income and unrelated business income and at the same time more than one-third of its support from contributions, fees, and gross receipts related to exempt purposes. 509(a)(2) (BMF foundation code: 16)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Intrepid Museum Foundation reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Grants Received
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Earned revenue comprises approximately 85% of the Museum’s total income. Government mandated, pandemic related closure decimated the Museum’s revenues and cash flow and had a significant adverse impact on its overall financial condition. During the period April to December 2020, the Museum’s earned revenue dropped approx. 95% compared to the same period in 2019. Management took the difficult step of furloughing most of its front of house staff, reducing overall headcount and cutting expenses where possible, while pivoting its programmatic efforts towards virtual delivery and engaging audiences online. The Museum launched an aggressive fundraising campaign in lieu of an annual fundraising gala, worked with grant funders to redirect dollars for program and other initiatives. In addition, Management secured a liquidity facility, drew on its line of credit and secured two PPP loans to meet operational and programmatic expenses and to ensure the post-pandemic sustainability of the Museum.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
All in-person public and private programming ceased as of March 13, 2020, including group visits, birthday parties, overnights, education programming, camps, seminars, speaking engagements, private events, films, tours and more. Programs delivered at off-site locations, such as schools, libraries and community centers, were also cancelled. Museum staff, most working remotely, pivoted to offer digitally/ virtually as many programs as possible, using both established content and curriculum and creating new content and offerings.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
The Museum downsized staff by more than half. The remaining team worked remotely to keep the Museum ‘open’ by delivering as much public programming and partner content as possible on virtual platforms. Education programs happened remotely through live interactions, mailed activity packets and recorded sessions. It also shifted delivery a national professional development program to online and got high marks by attendees. The Museum debuted an innovation in accessible museum experiences: Bring Your Own Accessible Device (BYOAD) Mobile Guide to allow guests to access exhibit content on their smartphones. The Museum and NYU’s Ability Project developed the interactive guide under a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Throughout the pandemic, the team kept the Museum’s website and social media active while working remotely. Strategic plans, short and long term, were scaled back and impactful low cost content was made available digitally and onsite for reopening.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
The Museum will maintain a schedule of digital and virtual programming to continue to engage the expanded audiences that connected virtually during Covid. Management plans to expand and enhance the content available on BYOAD Mobile Guide to allow guests to access information on their smartphones that helps visitors navigate the Museum and offers a rich collection of content including fast facts, visual descriptions, historic photos, videos and oral histories, statistics, and deep dives into various exhibits, artifacts and spaces. The Museum will continue to expand its content, collections, artifacts and oral histories that are available to the public online via multiple channels.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 7/1/2021 | 2019 | 87.35 | |
| 6/1/2020 | 2018 | 88.55 | |
| 7/1/2018 | 2017 | 87.01 | |
| 5/1/2017 | 2016 | 87.62 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2015 | 90.24 |  |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 9/1/2015 | 2014 | 90.03 | |
| 7/1/2014 | 2013 | 91.45 | |
| 5/1/2013 | 2012 | 95.31 | |
| 5/1/2012 | 2011 | 95.35 | |
| 9/20/2011 | 2010 | 97.33 | |
| Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
| 7/1/2011 | 2010 | 96.23 | |
| 11/24/2010 | 2009 | 85.84 | |
| 8/1/2009 | 2008 | 71.45 |  |
| 8/1/2008 | 2007 | 78.07 | |
| 7/1/2007 | 2006 | 94.88 | |
| 7/1/2006 | 2005 | 88.41 | |
| 5/1/2005 | 2004 | 95.77 | |
| 6/1/2004 | 2003 | 84.01 | |
| 4/15/2003 | 2002 | 79.75 | |
| 2/5/2003 | 2001 | 90.11 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Intrepid Museum Foundation cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Intrepid Museum Foundation? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Intrepid Museum Foundation reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
$20,337,524
Spent in most recent FY
71%
Percent of program expenses
Exhibition
$6,119,823
Spent in most recent FY
21%
Percent of program expenses
Education
$1,894,311
Spent in most recent FY
6%
Percent of program expenses
Public Programs
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by Intrepid Museum Foundation is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
The Intrepid Museum is an educational and cultural nonprofit institution. Centered on the aircraft carrier Intrepid, a National Historic Landmark, the Museum welcomes more than one million visitors each year (pre-COVID). Its mission is to promote the awareness and understanding of history, science and service to honor our heroes, educate the public and inspire our youth. The Intrepid Museum’s artifacts—the legendary World War II-era aircraft carrier Intrepid, the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jets and the nuclear missile submarine Growler—exemplify the engineering marvels that redefined the course of history through the stories of those who built and operated them.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Intrepid will deliver the intersection of history and innovation worldwide to educate, enrich and inspire our audiences to understand how the past impacts our future.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Remain Unique, Important, Inclusive and Competitive: Serve as a local community cultural hub to attract visitors Address gaps in education (e.g. STEM) for underserved students Lower barriers of entry
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Ensure long-term sustainability: Preserve Intrepid, a National Landmark, and Museum artifacts Connect collections to 21st century issues Foster inclusive workplace Grow and diversify revenue streams
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Create Best User Experience (UX) for visitors: before, during and after visit -Expand capacity for visitorship -Ensure greater accessibility and engagement for lifelong learners: onsite and virtual
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
The Museum views investing in its personnel as a strategic priority and is committed to the professional development of its team. The Museum provides professional and technical training in skill sets to help staff in certain positions excel both personally and professionally. Staff are encouraged to attend and present at conferences and participate in industry organizations, as well as publish articles in professional publications. Staff are encouraged to participate in key cross-departmental strategic and operating committees. Periodically departments present at the Museum’s board meetings and those staff participate in developing the presentation as well as presenting. Management promotes from within when possible, both vertically and laterally. Staff who are cultivated to embark on roles that are more senior are offered external leadership courses, specific to their discipline and through American Management Association, to prepare them for increasing responsibilities.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
The Museum raises awareness of its mission by engaging and motivating audiences onsite and via social media, partnerships and multilevel strategies; leveraging educational, interactive content and programs through Instagram stories, virtual events, live streams, published videos and more. Intrepid partners with dozens of varied organizations: such as institutional member of 100K in 10, NY STEM Education Alliance, and NYCHA communities; participates in Museums for All initiative and CUNY to offer free entry and remove economic barriers to visit. The Museum shares its work by collaborating with other organizations and universities and presenting at 20 local and national conferences. These included ASTC, AAM, NSTA and MAAM Building Museums and continue through 2020 and 2021. Intrepid is part of a New York City cultural institution consortium who discuss and share common challenges and opportunities facing the industry, and work to set common standards and advocate for the collective need.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
In March 2020, in response to guidance provided by state and local governments regarding large public gatherings, to safeguard the health of its visitors and employees and as a precautionary measure to limit opportunities for the spread of the COVID-19 virus, management temporarily closed the Museum to the public and provided remote work options for non-essential staff where possible. Within hours, Intrepid’s IT department had delivered laptops to those staff who were able to work remotely. Management then took the difficult step of furloughing most of its front of house staff, reducing overall headcount and cutting expenses where possible, while pivoting its programmatic efforts towards virtual delivery and engaging audiences online. Museum staff delivered 9 virtual astronomy live programs to over 223,091 unique viewers, its annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day programs virtually. Intrepid partnered with other museums and organizations to deliver educational live streaming events and its annual Youth Summit, with 457 participants from 14 countries, who spent an average of over 2 hours online. Given the broad audience reach – national and international – it experienced throughout 2020 and into 2021, management plans to continue the virtual delivery of many of its programs. Intrepid increased its presence on social media, ensuring visibility and promotion of its free programming, and expedited bringing its collections online. Staff held daily meetings virtually, ensuring consistency, communication, and seamless implementation of all. The Museum launched an aggressive fundraising campaign in lieu of an annual fundraising gala, worked with grant funders to redirect dollars for program and other initiatives. In addition, Management secured a liquidity facility, drew on its line of credit, secured two PPP loans to meet operational and programmatic expenses and received an SBA SVO grant to ensure the post-pandemic sustainability of the Museum.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Susan Marenoff-Zausner
President
Kenneth Fisher & Bruce Mosler
Co-Chairmen of the Board
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
Not Currently Scored
Intrepid Museum Foundation is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because we have not received its Constituent Feedback or Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion data. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the How We Listen and Equity Practices sections of their Candid profile.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Culture & Community Report
Unscored
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
Constituent Feedback and Listening Practice data are not available for this organization. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
