Musical Instrument Museum: $15.4M Revenue, $14.4M Program Expenses

Musical Instrument Museum earns a C on the efficiency rubric — the median bucket on the LakeQuality scale, indicating performance close to the national midpoint across program spending, executive compensation, and financial reserves. Composite score: 63/100.

At $15.4M in 2015 revenue, Musical Instrument Museum sits in the mid-range of the U.S. nonprofit distribution. Most organizations of this scale operate regionally or focus on a single program area. Musical Instrument Museum directs 80% of its expenses to programs — above the third-party-rater threshold for an efficient organization.

Revenue has declined meaningfully over the five-year filing window — a pattern that warrants attention to underlying funding sustainability. Musical Instrument Museum's 2015 revenue is materially below its earlier filings. CEO compensation is reported as zero in the filing — typical for nonprofits where the chief executive is paid through a related entity (parent system, university, or foundation) rather than the filing organization itself, or for small organizations whose chief is a volunteer or board member. Musical Instrument Museum sits in the cultural-nonprofit sector (Arts, Culture & Humanities). Museum, performing-arts, and cultural organizations carry distinctive financial patterns — earned revenue from ticket sales and admissions, plus a heavy reliance on endowment income and major donor cycles.