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.”

“Regent franklin raines and regent steven case had a business relationship during the tax year.”

“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 is prepared by an independent accounting firm and is reviewed by the office of general counsel, the office of the under secretary for finance and administration, and by an independent outside counsel firm. After this review process, the 990 is reviewed and affirmed by the audit and review committee of the board of regents. The 990 is then made available to the full board of regents for review and comment 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 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: the smithsonian's collections of nearly 157 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 148 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. In november 2022, the smithsonian launched the "life on a sustainable planet" climate change initiative to explore and share strategies for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change with the public. Under this program, the smithsonian's national zoo and conservation biology institute (nzcbi) expanded its smithsonian bird friendly certification program to include standards for cocoa farming - the only certification that guarantees 100% of the cocoa produced comes from farms that conserve birds and other wildlife by protecting forests and native shade trees. Scientists at nzcbi continued to play a leading role in the smithsonian's global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists. In november 2022, two andean bear cubs (vulnerable status) were born and went on view in march. The majority of what scientists know about andean bears comes from zoos like nzcbi that study andean bear behavior, health and reproduction. In may, the primate staff welcomed the birth of a western lowland gorilla - a critically endangered species. And five more cheetah cubs (vulnerable status) were born in september at the front royal, virginia, campus as part of the cheetah breeding center coalition. At the end of september, the zoo celebrated the giant panda conservation and breeding program's success during the week-long farewell, panda palooza, before the three giant pandas returned to china at the end of the year. The center for astrophysics | harvard & smithsonian launched the trophospheric emissions: monitoring of pollution satellite, called tempo, after a decade of spaceflight preparation. Tempo transmitted its first images of air pollution over north america in august and provides hourly measurements of air pollution data, allowing for better monitoring of air quality and safety for communities and environments around the world. The smithsonian formed and convened a human remains task force to develop a policy for the appropriate handling, shared stewardship or ethical return of human remains in the smithsonian's collection, including native and non-native remains, and further promote respectful engagement with descendants and descendant communities. In january, the national museum of american history added first lady jill biden's inaugural ensembles to its historic first ladies collection, continuing the 100-year long tradition. Nmah also accepted the robert "mack" mccormick blues and folklore archival collection, a foundational source for understanding american music, into its archive center for scholarly access.”

“Research and collections: in july, the smithsonian hosted a free, two-day national education summit in washington, d.c. The summit brought together thousands of teachers, museum educators, curriculum specialists, librarians and education agencies from across the nation to discuss key issues in education and explore learning strategies with smithsonian experts and collaborators. This year's theme "together we thrive: fostering a sense of belonging" explored pressing issues and topics that shape people's shared future in education: life on a sustainable planet, steam education, and reckoning with our racial past. The center for environmental justice at the anacostia community museum launched on earth day, seeking to create a future in which environmentalism is a cornerstone of civic engagement. Under the "life on a sustainable planet" initiative, the center will organize programming, such as panels, academies, and community gardening to place scientific data in the context of daily life which residents can use to develop healthy, equitable communities. The national museum of american history opened "entertainment nation"/"nacin del espectaculo," a 7,200-square-foot, multimedia exhibition with around 200 objects on view including the ruby slippers, prince's guitar, and ali's boxing robe. This was the smithsonian's first dedicated exploration of entertainment history, and it is the largest long-term bilingual exhibition on the national mall. In october 2022, the national air and space museum opened eight new and renovated galleries in the west wing of the national mall building. The exhibitions feature hundreds of new artifacts and longtime favorites in dynamic, immersive, and technologically upgraded spaces. The galleries also implemented new interactives accessible to visitors with vision, hearing and mobility disabilities. For the first time since 2020, the annual mother tongue film festival returned to the national mall for in-person events in february. The festival, hosted by the smithsonian's recovering voices initiative, centers around the international mother language day to celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity. The festival featured 27 films in 23 languages from regions across the globe. In december 2022, "our shared future: reckoning with our racial past," the smithsonian's race initiative, hosted the first panel at the national museum of african american history and culture, bringing together diverse groups of individuals to discuss race and racism in historical, cultural, and contemporary contexts. In addition to the national discussions, the smithsonian began preparations for local community conversations around race in cities and towns across the u.s. These community conversations, co-hosted by local organizations, will help facilitate open dialogue about issues related to race in their communities. The national museum of the american latino (nmal) and the smithsonian american women's history museum (sawhm) continued to grow and take shape this year, although they do not have buildings yet. Nmal opened a latino museum studies program for undergraduate students nationwide, to boost the representation of latinos in the museum field and the women's history museum launched a digital campaign, share your story, to collect stories from the public that will help shape the future of the museum.”

“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 produces more than 1,000 online and in-person seminars and lectures, multi-part courses, studio arts classes, study tours, concerts and children's programs. Notable guests included scientist and tv personality bill nye, journalist anderson cooper, travel expert rick steves, emmy-nominated mexican chef pati jinich, master chef jacques pepin and celebrity chef carla hall, and chief medical officer of webmd john whyte.”

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

“Advsry & assistnc srvcs psc: program service expenses 420,125. Management and general expenses 132,505. Fundraising expenses 1,089. Total expenses 553,719. Advisory and asst svcs non psc: program service expenses 1,777,167. Management and general expenses 141,402. Fundraising expenses 303,632. Total expenses 2,222,201. Central engineering services: program service expenses 11,561,870. Management and general expenses 42. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 11,561,912. Tech/admin svcs - 1099 vendors: program service expenses 347,365. Management and general expenses 11,211. Fundraising expenses 852. Total expenses 359,428. Non-benefit pool tuition: program service expenses 33,622. Management and general expenses 153. Fundraising expenses 1. Total expenses 33,776. Sao machine shop services: program service expenses 149,821. Management and general expenses -35. Fundraising expenses 110. Total expenses 149,896. Institutional membership&fees: program service expenses 786,119. Management and general expenses 210,449. Fundraising expenses 78,820. Total expenses 1,075,388. Support external organizations: program service expenses 136,668. Management and general expenses 23,871. Fundraising expenses 2,061. Total expenses 162,600. Temp employment svcs: program service expenses 2,983,081. Management and general expenses 3,904,593. Fundraising expenses 495,252. Total expenses 7,382,926. Other professional services: program service expenses 86,828,505. Management and general expenses 11,348,211. Fundraising expenses 11,978,961. Total expenses 110,155,677. Audio visual services: program service expenses 2,175,557. Management and general expenses -251,514. Fundraising expenses 386,760. Total expenses 2,310,803. Lectures honoraria: program service expenses 2,520,662. Management and general expenses 25,557. Fundraising expenses 51,667. Total expenses 2,597,886. Exhibit services: program service expenses 8,673,346. Management and general expenses 59,388. Fundraising expenses 13,811. Total expenses 8,746,545. Other purch g&s govt: program service expenses -19,766. Management and general expenses -297,144. Fundraising expenses -82. Total expenses -316,992. Iat in-house consultant: program service expenses -4,727. Management and general expenses -33,729. Fundraising expenses 630. Total expenses -37,826. Sao central eng. Serv-accr: program service expenses 29,355. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 8. Total expenses 29,363. Sao machine shop serv-accr: program service expenses 8,439. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 8,439. Reimb government agencies: program service expenses -5,806. Management and general expenses -1,393. Fundraising expenses -15. Total expenses -7,214. Operation & maint facilities: program service expenses 31,488,545. Management and general expenses 16,252,059. Fundraising expenses 70,410. Total expenses 47,811,014. Waste removal: program service expenses 373,101. Management and general expenses 79,520. Fundraising expenses 883. Total expenses 453,504. Guard services: program service expenses 22,093,100. Management and general expenses 4,973,529. Fundraising expenses 535,720. Total expenses 27,602,349. Custodial services: program service expenses 3,024,569. Management and general expenses 686,848. Fundraising expenses 248,090. Total expenses 3,959,507. Medical care: program service expenses 305,773. Management and general expenses 503. Fundraising expenses 5. Total expenses 306,281. Equip. Non it maint & repair: program service expenses 5,735,218. Management and general expenses 825,833. Fundraising expenses 12,950. Total expenses 6,574,001. Catering: program service expenses 6,445,021. Management and general expenses 385,992. Fundraising expenses 2,388,976. Total expenses 9,219,989. Cost of sharing expense: program service expenses 3,201,971. Management and general expenses 100. Fundraising expenses 437,256. Total expenses 3,639,327. Cost sharing central service: program”

“Change in net assets of related orgs -4,196. Proceeds from sales of collections 144,300.”

“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.”