Franklin County Historical Society DBA Cosi Columbus

“The form 990 is prepared by an outside public accounting firm. A copy of the form 990 is then reviewed by the finance/audit committee and is presented to the board members electronically prior to filing.”

“Each trustee signs a conflict of interest disclosure statement annually. Any conlficts of interest are disclosed and addressed at this time.”

“An analysis of other organizations' form 990 and a compensation survey are completed to determine the chief executive officer's compensation package. An independent committee analyzes the information and the board approves the appropriate compensation level. The compensation committee also reviews compensation of other officers using form 990 and other survey data. The organization documents all decisions of the board regarding compensation.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements avilable to the public upon request.”

“Cosi's vision and mission: to engage, inspire, and transform lives and communities by being the best partner in science, technology, and industry learning. Cosi's mission in action: -preparing today's children for success in school through early childhood education; -supporting family learning, where some of the most meaningful lessons occur; and -working with schools to prepare children for a knowledge-based economy: one that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math.”

“Quality educational experiences: the organization offered a variety of quality educational experiences for 788,230 guests. These quality educational experiences included cosi exhibits and a variety of programs, including the following: workshops, school field trips, access for economically disadvantaged people, and other events. Early childhood education-children are natural born scientists, exploring and experimenting before they walk or talk. Designed by early childhood education experts, cosi's little kidspace encourages this curiosity, nutures imagination, and promotes learning through hands-on play. Preschool workshops use children's literature to explore familiar topics such as flight and space. Family learning-from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, families can play and explore their way through seven permanent exhibit areas. Cosi's exhibits provide a guided tour to family fun with interesting experiments, hands-on activities, and talking points along the way. In addition, family science quests offer a new way to explore cosi by focusing on specific topics like forensics and physics along with our family workshops. Science education transformation-designed to enhance the classroom experience, cosi's educational programs provide exciting learning adventures creatively disguised as fun. Cosi's education programs showcase activities that help the community learn and grow. In 2017 cosi expanded its fantastic offerings as a state-of-the-art science center to now include natural history. This expansion was made possible by a one of a kind partnership with one of the world's leading natural history museums - new york city's american museum of natural history. The partnership was realized through public and private investments totaling $7 million. On november 18, 2017, the new american museum of natural history dinosaur gallery opened to the public and on march 3, 2018 the adjacent american museum of natural history special exhibition gallery was opened. This new partnership for cosi has dramatically boosted visitor frequency while also drawing visitors from farther away.”

“The organization has an audit committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit of the financial statements and selection of the independent accountant. The process by which the audit committee oversees the audit and selects the independent accountant has not changed from the previous year.”