We invite you to experience some of the many adventures, 

discoveries, events, ideas, exhibitions, and moments 

that made 2011 an amazing year at the Smithsonian. 

Come closer to see, hear, touch, and connect 

with the year that was, the world that is, 

and the institution we are. 

Smithsonian

Office of Advancement

1000 Jefferson Drive S.W., 4th Floor

MRC 035, P.O. Box 37012

Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Phone: (202) 633-4300

Email: info@si.edu

Web: www.si.edu

This image of the Sun from the 

orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory 

was taken using a telescope assembly 

built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory. Three wavelengths of 

extreme ultraviolet light—colored in 

yellow, blue, and gold—highlight the 

structure and ever-changing activity 

of the star’s million-degree corona. 

See more on page 10 about the 

Smithsonian’s pioneering work, 

undertaken in 2011, to study the 

Sun’s corona and wind.

Photo courtesy of NASA/LMSAL/SAO
Come closer with your smartphone or tablet.

When you see this, use 

your smartphone or 

tablet to scan the code 

and access a wealth of 

interactive applications. 

But first, download a 

barcode reader from 

the app store.

AN AMAZING YEAR

BY THE NUMBERS

Via exhibitions, 

websites, social media, 

educational outreach, 

research programs, and 

events, more people 

engaged with the 

Smithsonian in 2011 than 

any year in our history.

Top Museums Visited

1. National Air and Space Museum

2. National Museum of Natural History

3. National Museum of American History

4. National Zoological Park

5. Smithsonian Institution Castle

Most Visited Traveling Exhibitions

1. Jim Henson’s Fantastic World 

2. Elvis at 21, Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

3. Suited for Space: The Science of the Spacesuit

4. Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964

5. Black Wings, African American Pioneer Aviators

Most Popular Facebook Posts

1. Historical Lunch Boxes 

2. Scarecrow costume from The Wizard of Oz, 1939 

3. How did the animals at the National Zoo react to the earthquake?

4. U.S.S. Enterprise model, from Star Trek, 1966

5. American Bison at the Smithsonian Castle, about 1888

Most Ordered Food at the American Indian 

Museum’s Mitsitam Café

1. Cedar Planked Fire Roasted Salmon

2. Campfire Buffalo Burgers

3. Maple Brined Turkey

4. Regional Taco Specialties

5. Seasonal Soups

Top 5 Smithsonian Apps

1. Leafsnap

2. Smithsonian Channel 

3. Stories from Main Street

4. Smithsonian Mobile

5. Meanderthal

90 New Exhibitions

81Million Online Visitors at 134Websites

6,637Volunteers 

52Traveling Exhibitions on view in 492Locations in 50States

Research in 92Countries

200Facebook and Twitter Accounts

approx

170Affiliate Organizations

6.61Million Educational Program Attendees

1.08Million Folklife Festival Visitors

81,647Friends of the Smithsonian

2,151Free Educational Resources on SmithsonianEducation.org

This Stearman PT-13D trainer is one of the few surviving World War II aircraft used by the Tuskegee Airmen. A gift to 

the collection in 2011, and currently housed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the plane will permanently reside at 

the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s new facility when it opens in 2015.

Photo by Dane Penland

137Million Collection Objects

approx

29Million In-person Visitors
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annual 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 2 3 / 3 / Come ComeCLOSer CLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annual 2011 / smithsonian annualreport report

Amazing things happen at the Smithsonian. Planets 

are discovered, endangered species preserved, 

ancient mysteries revealed, art and artifacts seen 

from new perspectives.

In 2011 we created new ways for people to encounter 

these experiences, interact with exhibitions, learn 

more, and share their thoughts. At the National 

museum of the American Indian, for example, 

storytellers, dancers, and other performers help visitors see, hear, and feel the 

power of centuries-old tribal cultures. When re-enactors at the American History 

Museum portray the Greensboro lunch counter sit in, a new generation of 

Americans more deeply understands the fear and courage of those involved in 

the civil rights movement. And at the Udvar-Hazy Center visitors can now see us 

restore treasures of American aviation. 

Through 134 websites and many new mobile apps, people from all over the world 

can connect with the Smithsonian. And with almost two million followers and fans 

on Twitter and Facebook, we are getting feedback on our efforts in real time. An 

ever-growing number of online lesson plans bring the Smithsonian into classrooms 

worldwide, and every upcoming exhibition now incorporates digital engagement at 

the earliest planning stages.

In this annual report, you too can experience the many amazing Smithsonian 

moments of 2011 and continue to explore them through a variety of digital media. 

You can hear some of the earliest audio ever recorded, learn about an upcoming 

atmospheric probe of the Sun, appreciate the many facets of legendary jewelry 

design, and get the backstory on how a commissioned portrait was created.

We invite you to come closer. And to all who support us, thank you.

letter FROM THE S

In 2011, Tsimshian artisan David Boxley 

carved the 22-foot totem pole now 

permanently installed in the National 

Museum of the American Indian. 

Secretary Clough first met Boxley on 

a Smithsonian trip to Alaska in 2010. 

They met again in January 2012 

when the totem pole was 

dedicated at the museum.

Photo by Eric Long
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 

4 5 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

The Bunch of Grapes Brooch is a rare early 

piece that exemplifies two Van Cleef & Arpels

signatures—high quality craftsmanship and 

nature as inspiration.

VC&A collection, photo by Patrick Gries

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 4 5 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design 

Museum Jewelry Exhibition Goes Beyond Dazzling

Seeing millions of dollars worth of 

gems up close would have been 

reason enough to attend Set in

Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef

& Arpels. But there was a far richer 

experience in store for the record 

172,000 people who came to the 

Cooper-Hewitt’s first jewelry 

exhibition in more than a decade. 

“Ours is the only museum in the

U.S. devoted exclusively to 

design,” says curator Sarah Coffin. 

“This exhibition was not as much 

for the jewels as for the opportunity to see 

recurring design themes across a large body 

of work from the early 20th century until today.” 

The exhibition was designed and organized so that 

visitors could fully appreciate each of the 350 pieces 

for its innovation, design theme, and technology. 

See-through displays and magnifiers revealed 

the refined craftsmanship. Original drawings 

underscored the wide-ranging talent and vision 

that made the firm a design leader. With videos 

and close-up displays in bubbles, visitors could 

marvel at not only the jewels on the front 

of some pieces, but also the innovative 

mechanics on the back that made the designs 

possible. These included the Mystery 

Setting by which objects could be invisibly

held in place without prongs or adhesives.

If you missed this brilliant exhibition, or wish you could 

see it again, use our popular iPad app or visit the online 

exhibition at: cooperhewitt.org/microsites/set-in-style

The spectacular Bouquet Brooch employs the jeweler’s Mystery 

Setting, a patented combination of color-matched, precision 

hand-cut rubies that are held in channels that create solid fields 

of color with no apparent setting.

Courtesy of a California collection, photo by Patrick Gries
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 6 7 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

That is, until a non-invasive optical technique was 

developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory in which a digital map of the disc or 

cylinder is created, processed to remove “scratches” 

or “skips” in the surface, and then played back with 

software. The Smithsonian’s Carlene Stephens and her 

team at the American History museum partnered with 

the Berkeley lab and the Library of Congress (where 

this device is installed) in a pilot project to recover 

sound from six of the Volta Lab’s early audio recordings. 

In December 2011, crude and somewhat garbled 

snippets of long silent voices at last were heard. 

“It’s the 11th day of March, 1885,” one voice stated. 

Others recited “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” and a 

portion of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy. 

“The historical record is so dependent on the visual. 

So when we can actually hear what the past sounded 

like, a whole new set of questions presents itself,” says 

Stephens. “What’s the accent? Who is talking? Why 

did they choose to say what they said?” 

Though he was once a Regent of the Smithsonian, 

it wasn’t mere generosity that motivated Bell to offer 

up his recordings. He was vying with other leading 

inventors of the time, including Thomas Edison and 

Emile Berliner, to develop the material and process 

that would become the universal standard for audio 

recording. By depositing the results of his earliest 

Volta Lab experiments in sealed tin boxes at the 

Smithsonian, Bell hoped to establish a record of 

priority of invention and preserve a body of evidence 

should his patents ever be disputed. 

Ideas and experiments from the Volta Lab foreshadow 

other important discoveries, including magnetic 

recordings, soundtracks matched to film, and even 

fiber optics. “What’s striking,” curator Stephens finds, 

“is how many ideas and inventions that someday 

would change the world came from this one lab.” 

As more recordings are played, researchers hope 

to identify the voice of Alexander Graham Bell. 

Meanwhile, you can hear excerpts from the first six from recordings at http://youtu.be/x5BwTVblXk4

the Past

echoes

ECHOES ECHOES ECHOES ECHOES

In the late 1880s, Alexander Graham Bell entrusted the 

Smithsonian with more than 200 recordings, documents, 

and early recording devices invented with his associates at 

the Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C. While Smithsonian 

researchers have long been able to examine most of these 

materials, they have never been able to play the fragile 

recordings without risk of damaging them and losing their 

contents forever.

Curator Carlene Stephens 

handles one of the delicate 

19th century Volta Lab 

recordings from which 

sound was recovered 

using non-invasive 

imaging technology.

Photo by Rich Strauss

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 6 7 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

Scan to listen to 

the recordings.
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 

8 9 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

it takes 

two

When photographer Dave Woody won the Smithsonian’s 2009 

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, it was a first for the 

National Portrait Gallery. Home to more than 20,000 works, 

this would be the first time a photographic portrait would be 

commissioned for its permanent collection. 

“It is vital to make a good pairing between artist and subject 

because once the partnership is made, we don’t interfere with 

the process,” says curator Ann Shumard. “We don’t know how 

it’s going to turn out, but we believe that if the connection is 

there, the portrait will be great.”

Working closely with Shumard and her colleagues, Dave Woody 

considered several options for his subject, but chose 

Alice Waters.”I felt a connection to her and her work before 

I even met or talked with her,” he says.

Across four days of photographing at her home, garden, and 

restaurant, it became clear to both that the portrait needed an 

outdoor setting. Toward late afternoon one day they went to the 

Edible Schoolyard.

“That’s the photo I liked best right away,” says Waters, “because 

I was small and nature was big. I’m standing in this garden that 

educates kids about the beauty and nourishment of nature. It 

symbolizes the important work we are trying to do.”

“I felt there’s a great structural quality to the picture,” says Woody. 

“There’s a mix of pride and humility that I think captures her 

feelings toward her life’s work.”

See the portrait for yourself on the first floor of the National Portrait 

Gallery, or hear more about the collaboration between Waters 

and Woody through excerpts of their recent interviews by visiting 

http://si.edu/content/podcasts/11ARportrait.mp3 

9 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 10 11 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

Astrophysicist Justin Kasper points to a 

million-mile-per-hour solar flare. Kasper hopes 

the instruments his team is developing for the 

2018 Solar Probe Plus will capture bits of the 

Sun’s corona, explaining the mysteries behind 

the physics of this and other solar phenomena.

Photo by Justin Ides

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 10 11 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

While the sun brings us warmth and light, it also can wreak 

some havoc here on earth. Solar wind gusts can scramble 

satellite communications, cut off data streams, and 

even induce blackouts. A better understanding of 

how these gusts are created could lead to a better 

model for predicting when they are likely to occur. 

That’s one of many reasons for the Smithsonian’s 

ongoing collaboration on the NASA Solar 

Probe Plus mission.

When the spacecraft launches in 2018, the 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s 

Justin Kasper and his team aim to find 

out how the million-mile-per-hour solar 

wind forms, and why the Sun’s corona 

is so much hotter than its surface. Such 

information will lead to more accurate 

space weather forecasting, especially 

of solar flares and coronal mass 

ejections which continuously shower 

the earth with the magneticallycharged radiation that interferes with 

so much of our technology.

Kasper is leading development of 

the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and 

Protons (SWEAP) Investigation, a set 

of instruments that will capture bits 

of the corona to measure its speed, 

temperature, and density each time 

the spacecraft plunges through the 

atmosphere of the Sun. “From early in 

my career I’ve been interested in 

designing an instrument that could look 

straight at the sun and see the solar wind 

during these extreme encounters,” says 

Kasper. “But only at the Smithsonian could I 

find the encouragement and support to take a 

risky idea and prove it is feasible.”

For a closer look at the 2018 Solar Probe Plus go to 

http://smithsonianscience.org/2010/09/solar-wind/

The Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory Seeks Answers 

to Mysterious Solar Wind
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 12 13 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

The Smithsonian’s most popular app, 

Leafsnap uses facial recognition software 

to enable mobile phone users to quickly 

identify North American tree species.

Photo by Eric Long

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 12 13 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

Staring into your smart phone has never 

brought you closer to nature, or closer 

to appreciating it.

What started as a professional 

identification tool for botanists in 

the field has turned into a digital 

phenomenon, and the Smithsonian’s 

most popular app. Now anyone with 

a newer smart phone can identify tree 

species and contribute important geolocation and species data used to create 

detailed maps of tree populations. 

“The whole idea of broad scale plant 

identification is very exciting to us

because we can quickly react to species

movements, especially where habitats

are being degraded and transformed,”

says Smithsonian team leader John

Kress, of the National Museum of

Natural History. As more people use

Leafsnap, botanists can more quickly

see where native species are 

declining and invasive species are 

taking over. This richer data can 

then be shared with other organizations 

to inform and guide conservation efforts.

Developed in collaboration with 

Columbia University and the University 

of Maryland, Leafsnap uses facial 

recognition technology to identify 

species from more than 200 varieties in 

its database. Soon Leafsnap will expand 

to all 800 North American tree species. 

An education program for the classroom 

is also being developed. “Once people 

know what the tree is that’s in front of 

them, they suddenly begin to appreciate 

that species and care more about 

protecting it,” says Kress. 

Going for a walk this weekend? Search 

“Leafsnap” and download this free app.

Say Trees

!

With 

Smithsonian’s 

Leafsnap 

App, Nature 

Lovers Help 

Scientists See 

the Bigger 

Picture 
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 14 15 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

When Smithsonian Tropical Research 

Institute paleobotanist Carlos Jaramillo 

and his team found a strange new fossil 

deep in the jungles of Colombia, they 

at first thought it was some kind of 

crocodile. But as more team members 

studied it, they discovered it was a 

snake. Not just any snake, but the 

largest one ever known to have existed 

anywhere in the world.

Working with vertebrate paleontologists 

Jonathan Bloch of the Florida Museum 

of Natural History and Jason Head of 

the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 

Jaramillo and his team are finding more 

fossils and discovering more about the 

2,500 pound, 48-foot long Titanoboa 

and the ecosystem that supported it 

60 million yeas ago.

“Titanoboa,” says Jaramillo, “is a window 

on the geological origins of the tropical 

rainforest and offers evidence of 

how this dominant predator survived 

in the climactic conditions of a time 

we know very little about.”

Through a pan-institutional initiative 

inspired by the Smithsonian 

Channel, this ancient reptile is 

getting 21st century multimedia 

attention. Smithsonian Enterprises, 

the Smithsonian’s business group, 

has helped millions to learn about 

the real-life research of Jaramillo 

and his team. They were the 

subject of a Smithsonian Channel 

documentary and a Smithsonian

magazine cover story that has 

brought Titanoboa into nearly 

25 million households.

A life-size model of the 

monster snake, along with 

videos and augmented 

reality posters, are all part 

of a Titanoboa exhibit drawing 

sizable crowds at the Natural 

History museum, too. Beginning 

in 2012 Titanoboa will reach and 

teach many more as the exhibition 

travels the United States and 

eventually visits Panama. 

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 14 15 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

Millions have learned Titanoboa’s 

story on air, in print, and in person 

here at the National Museum of 

Natural History, where the 48-foot 

snake model is on display. Visit 

smithchan.com/monstersnake 

to explore this story online.

Photo by Don Hurlbert

Smithsonian ENTERPRISES 

Brings Huge Discovery to Millions.
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 16 17 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

The National Museum of African American 

History and Culture Finds Much to 

Treasure Across America

Save our African American 

Treasures recently traveled 

to Detroit; Dallas; Indianola, 

Mississippi; and Houston. 

It is one of many current 

exhibitions and programs 

of the National Museum 

of African American

History and Culture. The 

museum’s new building is 

scheduled to open in 2015 

on the National Mall

in Washington, D.C. 

Photos by Michael Barnes

ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 16 17 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

In Los Angeles, a woman clutches a worn blue and white 

gingham apron in her hands. She believes it belonged to 

a family member back in the 1930s. A Smithsonian textile 

expert carefully examines the stitching pattern and gives 

the woman some news. “When she found out her apron 

is from the 1860s,” says Director of Education Esther J. 

Washington, “it was an enlightening moment.” 

As the Save Our African American Treasures program 

travels from city to city, people learn more about their 

heirlooms, and connect with curators, historians, and other 

staff of the National Museum of African American History and 

Culture, the Smithsonian’s 19th and newest museum. 

Program Coordinator Tracey Enright credits museum Director 

Lonnie Bunch with the idea that started the Treasures program. 

“He believed that the heirlooms many people have in their 

basements, attics, and garages represent not only family 

histories, but pieces of African American history that should 

be preserved.” 

In almost every city Smithsonian staff see old bibles, documents 

and quilts. Baseball cards, movie magazines, records, and other 

20th century collectibles featuring African American celebrities 

also are popular.

“People go away understanding there are preservation steps 

that need to be taken,” says Enright. “We give them the tools 

and processes to make sure these objects, and their stories, 

live on.”
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 18 19 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

France Córdova was 

elected Board Chair 

in September 2011. 

She began her term 

in January 2012.

Recognizing that the Smithsonian’s primary challenge 

is to continue real and substantial progress in a time 

of fiscal austerity, the Regents’ focus is on securing 

the resources necessary for the Smithsonian to remain 

strong and vibrant. 

With Congressional Regents leading the way, the 

Board is actively making the Smithsonian’s case for 

increasingly scarce Federal resources. Its Citizen 

Regents are assuming leadership roles to support a 

national fundraising effort and are providing expertise 

and strategic guidance to grow Smithsonian business 

initiatives and the endowment. The Board remains 

convinced that an investment in the Smithsonian is a 

smart investment in America’s future.

Austere times should not prevent the Institution from 

achieving the excellence expected of its educational 

programs and research. The Board is focusing its 

support on a series of promising strategic initiatives. 

It continues to oversee the implementation of 

the ambitious strategic plan and efforts to make 

Smithsonian assets more accessible to all Americans 

and the world. The Regents look forward to the 

additional learning opportunities created for millions 

of visitors each year by the new National Museum of 

African American History and Culture and a renovated 

Arts and Industries Building.

An engaged and vibrant Board is required to build 

on this progress. The Board continued to strengthen 

partnerships with Smithsonian museum and research 

center advisory boards. As part of this effort, it 

approved creation of new advisory boards for the 

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Following 

September 2011 elections, in January 2012 France 

Córdova, president of Purdue University, succeeded 

Patty Stonesifer as Board Chair; Ms. Stonesifer became 

Vice Chair; and Shirley Ann Jackson, president of 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, became the third 

member of the Executive Committee. 

Despite an uncertain fiscal forecast, the Regents 

continue to support and foster creativity and innovation 

at the Smithsonian and look forward to a future of 

enormous promise.

Restoration of the 1881 Arts and Industries Building began in 2011 with the replacement of its 1980s‐era windows and roof 

and the securing of the roof trusswork. This work is made possible using a combination of public and private funds.

Photo by Martin Stupich

BOARD OF REGEN

As the economic and political worlds 

change in rapid and unexpected ways, the 

Board of Regents continues to advance the 

Smithsonian’s mission through engaged 

oversight and in a constructive partnership 

with Secretary Clough and his leadership team. 

Patty Stonesifer 

completed her three-year 

term as Board Chair in 

January 2012. She now 

serves as Vice Chair.
ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport / 20 21 / ComeCLOSer 2011 / smithsonian annualreport

REVENUES

IN Percent, F

Federal Appropriations 62% 

Contributions & Private Grants 15%

Government Grants & Contracts 11%

Investment Earnings 5%

Business Ventures 4%

Other 3%

Ex

In Percent, 

Salaries & Benefits 47%

Other Operating Expenses 39%

Capital Expenses 14%

Fin

In Millions Of Dolars

2011 2010

Operating Revenue $1,150 $1,139

Operating Expenses 993 980

Increase in Operating Net Assets 157 159

Increase (Decrease) in Other Assets (57) 44

Total Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets 100 203

Financial 

In Millions Of Dolars

2011 2010

Trust Federal Total Funds

Assets $2,048 $1,469 $3,516 $3,416

Liabilities 336 405 741 740

Net Assets 1,712 1,064 2,776 2,676

Growth 

In Millions Of

Smithsonian Ent

Smithsonian Enterprises provides unrestricted funds to 

the Institution and its museums through the operation of 

revenue-generating activities that include museum stores, 

restaurants, IMAX theaters, the Smithsonian Catalog,

Smithsonian and Air & Space/Smithsonian magazines and 

associated websites, Smithsonian Channel, Smithsonian 

Books, product licensing, and travel programs for adults, 

families, and students.

Smithsonian Enterprises contributed $29.1 million in net 

gain to the Institution in fiscal year 2011, an increase of 

4.7% over 2010, on revenues of $138.6 million—the fifth 

consecutive year of net gain growth.

2011 Highl

SMITHSONIAN.COM was named “most interesting” of 

all websites affiliated with magazines in the U.S. by Affinity, 

a media research company. Affinity also ranked 

Smithsonian magazine “most interesting” in its ranking 

of national magazines.

SMITHSONIAN BOOKS published Falling to Earth, the 

autobiography of Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, and 

it made the Los Angeles Times’ bestseller list. Worden 

conducted more than 30 author events, several of them 

held at Smithsonian Affiliate museums.

SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL earned acclaim for 9/11: 

The Day That Changed the World and 9/11: Stories in 

Fragments, programs that marked the tenth anniversary 

of September 11, 2001. The latter program coincided with 

an exhibition about 9/11 shown at the National Museum 

of American History. The Channel won an Emmy for 

Hindenburg: The Untold Story and multiple awards at the 

Houston WorldFest International Film Festival.

RETAIL GROUP expanded its presence by opening a 

new shop in Union Station in Washington, D.C. Its Price of 

Freedom store in the National Museum of American History 

was re-merchandised to sell exclusively made-in-America 

products, and other stores are increasing their selections of 

domestic-made items.

LICENSING in partnership with QVC presented four times 

the amount of live programming aired in fiscal year 2010. 

The group entered into 14 licensing arrangements with 

organizations including Subway, Kraft, and Mattel.

Financial

The Smithsonian finished the year in sound financial position, 

benefitting from the continued strong performance of its 

business operations and private fundraising. The endowment 

stood at $971 million at the end of the fiscal year. 

The Smithsonian receives funding from direct federal government 

appropriations, from other governmental entities, and from 

private sources. Public dollars conserve our national collections; 

sustain basic research; educate the public, operate, maintain, and 

protect the large Smithsonian museum and research complex; 

and provide other administrative and support services. 

Private funds leverage federal dollars, allow the Smithsonian 

to undertake new ventures, and they provide the critical 

difference for carrying out innovative research, expanding 

and strengthening national collections, developing and 

building new facilities, opening state-of-the-art exhibitions, 

and reaching out to America’s diverse communities. 

The 2011 annual audit was conducted by KPMG LLP. For a 

complete set of audited financial statements, contact the 

Office of the Comptroller at (202) 633-7250.

Endowme

The Smithsonian’s endowment continued to provide a 

stable, growing stream of payouts for current expenditures. 

The endowment’s primary objectives are to generate 

sufficient returns over the long term (five to 10 years) and 

to maintain spending without depleting the real value of its 

assets. The endowment began the fiscal year with assets of 

$977 million and ended it with assets of $971 million. The 

endowment payout provided $53.8 million for program 

support and operations. The endowment benefited 

from $39.8 million in additions from contributions and an 

investment return of 0.7%, reflecting the roller coaster year 

in financial markets. The endowment’s long-term asset 

allocation is shown in the table below. 

Ass

Hedge Funds 35%

Global Equity 25% 

Emerging Markets 10%

Fixed Income & Cash 10%

Real Assets 10%

Private Equity & Venture Capital 10%

As this report illustrates, the generosity of individual donors, 

corporations, and foundations is essential for the Smithsonian 

to transform itself for the 21st century, realize the vision set 

forth in its strategic plan, and achieve its full potential. 

These gifts allow the Smithsonian to strengthen national 

collections, create dynamic exhibitions, employ the latest 

technology, lead research on issues critical to humankind, 

and innovate on site and online in ways that inspire people 

of all backgrounds and ages toward lifelong learning. 

The Smithsonian gratefully acknowledges the many individuals, 

corporations, and foundations whose contributions are vital to 

the Smithsonian’s ambitious vision to inspire future generations. 

Information on the uses and sources of private dollars 

contributed to the Smithsonian in 2011 is provided in the 

graphs and tables below. 

Pupos

In Ml

Facilities & Public Spaces $48.3 31%

Exhibitions, Education &

 Public Programs 37.5 24%

Museums & Research Centers,

 General Support 33.6 21%

Smithsonian, General Support 21.4 13%

Acquisitions & Collections 9.3 6%

Research 7.9 5%

TOTAL 158.0 100%

Funds R

In Mill

Individuals $84.9 54%

Corporations 40.2 25%

Foundations 28.4 18%

Other 4.5 3%

TOTAL 158.0 100%

FINANCIAL 

FISCAL YEAR ENDING 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

PHILANTHROP

FISCAL YEAR ENDING 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

For more than 200 years, presidential families in the White 

House have helped to shape its décor and style. These 1902 

brass andirons from the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt 

were part of the exhibition Something of 

Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White 

House at the Smithsonian American Art 

Museum’s Renwick Gallery.

Photo courtesy of White House 

Historical Association, White House 

Collection (detail)

2011 $2,776

2010 $2,676

2009 $2,473

2008 $2,394

2007 $2,495