St Louis Science Center Foundation

“The foundation has no employees, rather its program service, management, and fundraising are performed by the st. Louis science center (a tax-exempt museum subdistrict of the state of missouri) which charges the foundation a management fee. In addition, the science center charges the foundation for certain labor costs incurred for various activities carried out by the foundation.”

“The sole member of the foundation is the st. Louis science center which is a governmental body organized and existing under the laws of the state of missouri. At each annual meeting of the foundation, the governing body of the science center elects the board of directors of the foundation.”

“Form 990 was prepared by a public accounting firm with information from the st. Louis science center foundation's finance staff. A draft copy was reviewed by the controller and cfo and recommended changes were sent to the tax preparer. The return was reviewed with the audit committee of the science center and provided to the board of directors electronically prior to filing.”

“As a result of being affiliated with the st louis science center, the officers, directors, and key employees file annual financial disclosure statements with the foundation and the missouri ethics commission. The submission and review of these statements is coordinated by the governance committee which reviews all required statements and ensures that all statements are filed on a timely basis.”

“Compensation of the president of the science center, who is also the president of the foundation, is reviewed and approved by an independent compensation committee of the science center and the board of directors of the foundation. They obtain and rely upon appropriate data for presidents of similar organizations of similar size, as provided by a compensation consultant, and document the basis for determining compensation in contemporaneously prepared documents and meeting minutes. For other key executives, compensation levels are determined using comparable salary data and input from the board of directors and members of the board of directors of the science center.”

“This information is available on the web site of the st. Louis science center and is also available at the reception desk of the science center. The financial statements also include information on who to contact to obtain additional information about the science center and the foundation.”

“There have been no significant changes to the activities of the organization. All programs have been combined into one on the form 990 to best reflect the organization's structure.”

“Effective january 1, 2023, the st. Louis science center implemented gasb statement no. 101, compensated absences, which requires retroactive application.”