Smithsonian Institution

“The bylaws of the organization delegate authority to the executive committee to act on behalf of the board of regents when the board of regents is not in session. The board of regents elects from its members an executive committee consisting of three members. The executive committee has and may exercise all powers of the board of regents when the board of regents is not in session, except those expressly reserved to itself by the board of regents, provided that all such proceedings are reported to the governance and nominating committee and the board of regents on a regular basis. The chair of the board serves as chair of the executive committee. The vice chair of the board serves as a member of the executive committee.”

“Steve case - business relationship david rubenstein - business relationship franklin raines - business relationship”

“Pursuant to federal statute, the board of regents consists of the vice president of the united states, the chief justice of the united states, three members of the u.s. Senate, three members of the u.s. House of representatives, and nine additional citizen regents. The three senators are appointed by the president pro tempore of the u.s. Senate, and the three members of the house of representatives are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. Their appointment terms coincide with the terms for which they are elected, and they may be reappointed if re-elected. The citizen regents are nominated by the board of regents, and appointed by a joint resolution of congress which is signed by the president of the united states.”

“The form 990 return is reviewed by the director of finance and accounting, the office of general counsel, chief operating officer and the secretary of the smithsonian. The return is also reviewed by an independent accounting firm. After this review process, the 990 is made available to the full board for its review and comment. The audit & review committee conducts a final review of the return at a regularly scheduled committee meeting prior to its filing.”

“All officers, key employees, and certain other employees are required to complete and file annually a confidential financial disclosure report. These reports - which require disclosure of certain assets, earned income, liabilities, outside positions, outside contracts and agreements, gifts, hospitality, reimbursements, and other interests related to the employee's smithsonian position - are reviewed by the institution's office of general counsel for compliance with applicable conflict of interest policies and laws. In addition to this required reporting, all key employees are required to comply with the institution's standards of conduct, which, among other things, requires that employees not engage in private or personal activities that might conflict or appear to conflict with smithsonian interests, requires that employees obtain office of general counsel approval before engaging in an outside activity for compensation, and requires employees to consult with the office of general counsel whenever a doubt exists as to whether an activity or planned activity violates the standards. All members of the smithsonian's governing body are required to complete and file annually the board of regents annual disclosure statement. These statements - which require reporting by members (including any reportable interests held by immediate family of members) on outside positions and substantial shareholding in for-profit business entities, outside positions in non-profit entities, and interests and affiliations of the member that have or sought to have a relationship to the smithsonian - are reviewed by the institution's general counsel for compliance with applicable conflict of interest policies and laws. In addition to this required reporting, all members of the smithsonian's governing body are required to comply with the board of regents ethics guidelines, which, among other things, define conflicts of interest and establish procedures for disclosing and reporting of conflicts and recusal from decision-making.”

“The smithsonian ensures that compensation paid to officers and other key employees is reasonable and comparable to similar organizations. Employees of the smithsonian may be paid with federally appropriated funds or with nonfederal ("trust") funds. Most trust funded (nonfederal) officer and key employee positions are subject to market-based compensation, and the board of regents' committee on compensation and human resources engages an independent consultant to develop and assemble comparability data for its consideration and to inform its decisions. The committee's annual deliberations and decisions are documented as part of the final recommendation materials submitted to the board of regents'. Salaries for federal employees are determined by statutorily established pay ranges for civil service employees. As a matter of policy, the smithsonian has established similar ranges for certain trust funded officer and key employee positions and maintains those ranges in proportion to the appropriate federal pay ranges.”

“The smithsonian makes its governing documents, statement of values and code of ethics, and audited financial statements available on its public website (www.si.edu). Documents may also be viewed at the office of finance and accounting or mailed.”

“The smithsonian institution is a trust instrumentality of the u.s., created by congress; organized pursuant to 20 u.s.c. Sec. 41 et seq. Form 990, page 1, line m state of legal domicile: as a trust instrumentality of the united states, the smithsonian institution is a federal entity that is not domiciled in any state.”

“Education, public programs and exhibitions: after the smithsonian closed its museums due to the covid-19 pandemic in march 2020, all 19 museums re-opened to the public on adjusted schedules starting in may 2021. In conjunction with local and national guidelines, the museums adhered to new health and safety protocols to protect against the spread of covid-19. In response to the global pandemic, the smithsonian prioritized digital approaches to education, public programs and exhibitions. The smithsonian developed and curated the educational resources students, teachers and caregivers needed to support distance learning. As part of those efforts, the smithsonian partnered with pbs learningmedia to bring learning-ready content to pre-k12 educators nationwide. The smithsonian provided educational interactives, documents and in-depth lesson plans that aligned with common core and national and state standards. At the end of 2020, the smithsonian hosted "24 hours in a time of change," a day-long virtual program centered around contemporary issues such as racial injustice and the covid-19 pandemic. The program encouraged a national dialogue by inviting the public to reflect on and share their personal experiences of 2020. In addition to digital conversations, ten smithsonian museums and centers hosted a series of virtual recorded and live programs. To expand public understanding of and appreciation for portraiture, the national portrait gallery commenced a nationwide tour of the iconic obama portraits by artists amy sherald and kehinde wiley. The tour, which began in june 2021, includes stops in brooklyn, los angeles, atlanta, and houston. During its stop in illinois, the tour consistently broke daily attendance records for the art institute of chicago. The smithsonian launched a new race initiative, "our shared future: reckoning with our racial past" with a virtual forum in aug. 2021. The virtual event brought together national thought leaders and smithsonian experts to encourage a public dialogue about how americans understand, experience and confront racism. The event touched on six main themes: race and wellness; race and wealth; race and place; race, policy and ethics; race beyond the u.s.; and race, arts and aesthetics. In sept. 2021, the national museum of african american history and culture opened the exhibit, "make good the promises: reconstruction and its legacies." the landmark exhibition examines what historians consider to be the least studied period in american history. "make good the promises" features more than 175 objects, 300 images and 14 media programs exploring the period and its ongoing impact on america today.”

“Research and collections: the smithsonian's collections of nearly 156 million objects (art, artifacts and scientific specimens) are the heart of the institution. Research, public programs and exhibitions are based on these collections, which additionally include more than 33 million digital records of online material. Care of the collections involves the work of registrars, conservators, museum specialists, designers, curators and editors. Approximately 146 million objects and specimens are part of the national museum of natural history collections and are primarily used for research by both smithsonian scientists and researchers from around the world. In some cases, the museum has the definitive, irreplaceable collection of a certain species which is essential for comparative studies. As part of the smithsonian's collection efforts surrounding the historic events of 2020, the national museum of american history announced the acquisition of materials connected with the first-known doses of fda-approved covid-19 vaccine administered in the u.s. The acquisition included the vial that contained the first doses of approved vaccine dispensed in the u.s., as well as objects related to vaccine distribution. In august 2021, two scimitar-horned oryx calves were born as the result of artificial insemination at smithsonian conservation biology institute (scbi). The scimitar-horned oryx are considered extinct in the wild. By developing an alternate protocol for inseminating scimitar-horned oryx, scientists at scbi continue to play a leading role in the smithsonian's global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction. Researchers at the smithsonian tropical research center led a study that shows the asteroid impact that decimated the dinosaurs 66 million years ago also caused 45% of plants in what is now colombia to go extinct. The team discovered that the massive extinction allowed for the reign of flowering plants in modern tropical rainforests. Their study sheds light on the origins of modern rainforests and may help scientists understand how rainforests will respond to a rapidly changing climate in the future. Astronomers at the center for astrophysics detected the first jupiter-like planet without clouds or haze in its observable atmosphere. The exceedingly rare discovery marks the second time astronomers have observed a cloud-free exoplanet. The discovery of planets with clear atmospheres will allow scientists to better study the chemical composition of planets. Scientists at the national museum of natural history disproved the idea that eels are exclusively solitary predators by discovering electric eels hunting in a group. Despite how common group hunting is in mammals, only nine species of fish are known to hunt in groups. The research is a substantial contribution to eel literature considering how little is known about the species.”

“Membership: the national associate program is the institution's largest and most basic membership program. The program provides members with smithsonian magazine, which is published 11 times a year. The print and online publication provides in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, art and world cultures. "friends of the smithsonian" is a higher-level membership program for people interested in a deep philanthropic connection to the smithsonian. Friends receive smithsonian magazine, plus they are invited to various events and are given the opportunity to learn about and support the institution's exhibitions and research. The smithsonian associates is a self-supporting membership program which produces informative, enlightening, entertaining, and insightful programs inspired by and going beyond smithsonian research, collections and exhibitions. Programs engage audiences from pre-k to post-retirement who have keen interest in furthering their understanding of the arts and sciences, the past, present, and future of world cultures. The largest museum-based educational program in the world, smithsonian associates annually offers more than 750 virtual seminars and lectures, in-person and online studio art classes, performances, and local and regional study tours. Performances at discovery theater and more than 100 educationally focused online and in-person summer camps are among the programs that foster the joys of learning for young people and their families. Smithsonian associates streaming launched during the pandemic and continues to increase engagement with national and international audiences. Notable guests in 2021 included justice stephen breyer, dr. Anthony fauci, elizabeth warren, author jodi picoult, and actors martin sheen and stanley tucci.”

“The smithsonian's audited financial statements are included in the united states government's consolidated audited financial statements.”

“Change in net assets related org -7,092,897. Gain on sale of real estate 373,807.”

“The smithsonian institution is separately audited. The smithsonian institution's audited financial statements are included in the united states government's consolidated audited financial statements.”