Lost Railway Museum

Analysis

Lost Railway Museum is a registered charity in United States, based in Grass Lake, MI. It received its IRS tax-exemption ruling in February 2016, 10 years ago. Its declared purposes cover arts, culture and humanities, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. The IRS classifies it as a publicly supported organisation (donations from the general public) under section 501(c)(3), and contributions to it are listed as tax-deductible.

In the financial year ending December 2023, Lost Railway Museum reported income of $288k and spending of $184k, leaving 36% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2019 to December 2023, income grew from $174k to $288k (+66%), an average of +13% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2021, when income rose by 73%. Over the whole period it spent 63% of the income it received.

Among 45,478 United States charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, Lost Railway Museum sits at the 67th percentile: it is larger than about 67% of them. Against every charity in United States with reported income it ranks in the 61st percentile, and in the 61st percentile within MI. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Faulkner Morgan Archive ($288k), White River Valley Antique Association Inc ($288k) and Institute for Cultural Evolution ($288k).

On its Form 990 for the period ending December 2023, revenue came from contributions and grants 98% and program service revenue 0.2% of the total. At year end it held assets of $1.3m against liabilities of $101k, net assets of $1.2m.