Museum of Us
Mission
On August 2, 2020 the San Diego Museum of Man announced its new name: Museum of Us. The museum is located on the ancestral homelands of the Kumeyaay Nation in San Diego's Balboa Park, and is guided by its mission to inspire human connections by exploring the human experience. Over the last decade, MoU's leadership has introduced and implemented a new strategy that uses contemporary social issues and popular culture as a springboard for experience-based explorations of the past, present, and future of what it means to be human. <br><br> Fundamental to this shift in strategy is an approach focused on decolonizing our work that places the perspectives and needs of indigenous communities and other underrepresented groups as an institutional priority. The integration of a decolonized approach into the fabric of the organizational structure and operations is grounding our purpose to create a more inclusive, accessible, and socially just museum.
Vision
The institutional vision for the Museum of Us is to be San Diego’s dynamic place to go to learn from
Goals
- 1.The Museum of Us is committed to equity, a commitment illustrated by our core programs complementing our "Race: Are We So Different?" exhibit. In 2023 we completed content development for an entirely new Race exhibit, titled: "Race: Power, Resistance & Change." This groundbreaking new core exhibit opened in November 2025.
- 2.We're expanding meaningful, more equitable access by our "Membership On Us" program which provides year-long access with the purchase of a daily admission ticket. This program also includes a robust scholarship component where under resourced students are enrolled in annual membership.
- 3.In June 2025, our Board of Trustees approved an ambitious plan to dramatically accelerate our repatriation/relational repair efforts. We will more than quadruple our Cultural Resources team from three to 14 staff over an 18-month period, bringing on as many Indigenous and Descendant community cultural stewardship practitioners as possible to move this work forward.
San Diego CA | EIN: 95-1709290
Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
501(c)(3) organization
Museum of Us
Mission
On August 2, 2020 the San Diego Museum of Man announced its new name: Museum of Us. The museum is located on the ancestral homelands of the Kumeyaay Nation in San Diego's Balboa Park, and is guided by its mission to inspire human connections by exploring the human experience. Over the last decade, MoU's leadership has introduced and implemented a new strategy that uses contemporary social issues and popular culture as a springboard for experience-based explorations of the past, present, and future of what it means to be human. <br><br> Fundamental to this shift in strategy is an approach focused on decolonizing our work that places the perspectives and needs of indigenous communities and other underrepresented groups as an institutional priority. The integration of a decolonized approach into the fabric of the organizational structure and operations is grounding our purpose to create a more inclusive, accessible, and socially just museum.
Vision
The institutional vision for the Museum of Us is to be San Diego’s dynamic place to go to learn from
Goals
- 1.The Museum of Us is committed to equity, a commitment illustrated by our core programs complementing our "Race: Are We So Different?" exhibit. In 2023 we completed content development for an entirely new Race exhibit, titled: "Race: Power, Resistance & Change." This groundbreaking new core exhibit opened in November 2025.
- 2.We're expanding meaningful, more equitable access by our "Membership On Us" program which provides year-long access with the purchase of a daily admission ticket. This program also includes a robust scholarship component where under resourced students are enrolled in annual membership.
- 3.In June 2025, our Board of Trustees approved an ambitious plan to dramatically accelerate our repatriation/relational repair efforts. We will more than quadruple our Cultural Resources team from three to 14 staff over an 18-month period, bringing on as many Indigenous and Descendant community cultural stewardship practitioners as possible to move this work forward.
San Diego CA | EIN: 95-1709290
Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
501(c)(3) organization
Beacon Report
- Great
- Good
- Needs Improvement
- Poor
- Not Scored
- Additional Information
- Great
- Good
- Needs Improvement
- Poor
- Not Scored
- Additional Information
Program Expense Ratio:74.72% of total expenses
SCORE100%
Average percentage of expenses on programs and services over the past three years. A ratio greater than 65.00% receives full credit.
ExpensesFY2021
- Administrative: 15.1%
- Fundraising: 10.0%
- Program: 74.9%
ExpensesFY2023
- Administrative: 18.2%
- Fundraising: 10.1%
- Program: 71.7%
ExpensesFY2024
- Administrative: 12.3%
- Fundraising: 10.1%
- Program: 77.5%
- Administrative
- Fundraising
- Program
Source: Public data from IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio:4.03% of total assets
SCORE100%
Total liabilities divided by total assets, indicating long-term sustainability. A ratio under 30.00% receives full credit
Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Year 2024.
Working Capital:2.78 years of reserves
SCORE100%
Duration where assets could cover expenses with no new funding. Reserves of more than 1.50 years receive full credit
Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Years 2024, 2023, 2021.
Fundraising Efficiency:$0.17 to raise a dollar
SCORE100%
Cost to raise $1 in charitable contributions. A cost of less than $0.20 per dollar raised receives full credit.
Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Years 2024, 2023, 2021.
| Score | Metric |
|---|---|
| 100% | Program Expense Ratio:74.72% of total expenses Average percentage of expenses on programs and services over the past three years. A ratio greater than 65.00% receives full credit. ExpensesFY2021
ExpensesFY2023
ExpensesFY2024
Source: Public data from IRS Form 990 |
| 100% | Liabilities to Assets Ratio:4.03% of total assets Total liabilities divided by total assets, indicating long-term sustainability. A ratio under 30.00% receives full credit Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Year 2024. |
| 100% | Working Capital:2.78 years of reserves Duration where assets could cover expenses with no new funding. Reserves of more than 1.50 years receive full credit Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Years 2024, 2023, 2021. |
| 100% | Fundraising Efficiency:$0.17 to raise a dollar Cost to raise $1 in charitable contributions. A cost of less than $0.20 per dollar raised receives full credit. Source: Public data from IRS Form 990. Fiscal Years 2024, 2023, 2021. |