Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1970.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
32 people listed on the 990; $6.6M paid to officers and key staff.
Sherrie Rollins Westin’s $1.1M as President & CEO is at the 74th percentile of top reported officer pay among 53 $100M+ arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherrie Rollins Westin | $1,099,259 | $858,697 | $864,748 | — | — | — |
| Jeffrey Dunn | — | — | — | $775,430 | $1,090,227 | $903,418 |
| Stephen Youngwood | $751,982 | $1,025,307 | $1,022,143 | $958,540 | $662,671 | $615,765 |
| Sherrie Westin | — | — | — | $811,811 | $649,499 | $594,852 |
| Jean Brown Johnson | — | — | — | — | — | $527,254 |
| Kay N Wilson Stallings | $527,067 | $525,543 | $522,985 | $510,297 | $438,929 | $377,928 |
| Joseph P Salvo | — | $312,288 | $521,954 | — | — | — |
| George E Wells | — | — | — | $509,911 | $426,280 | $407,507 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Sesame Workshop executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Helps children develop intelligence, physical strength, and compassion.
Questions for Sesame Workshop
Your first name shows with your question. Sesame Workshop answers here, for everyone.
Creation and distribution of educational media sesame workshop creates educational content for preschool children and distributes that content in the U.S. And around the world, across various media platforms including television, digital streaming, online, radio, print, mobile, and home entertainment.
Humanitarian response in the face of the growing global refugee crises, millions of young children do not have access to early childhood development opportunities needed to help them recover from adverse experiences and prepare them to thrive.
Global social impactsesame workshop's (SW) international social impact group provides early learning opportunities for young children and families around the world. We partner with local experts, including educators, donors, media organizations, government ministries, and ngos to leverage the power of sesame street's characters and…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 1 smaller program.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 1 smaller program.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 1 smaller program.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $24.2M | $16.6M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $374.0M | $408.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $14.5M | $13.4M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $558.5M | $578.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $119.5M | $108.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $439.0M | $469.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.6M | $1.6M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $6.3M | $6.3M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $4.7M | $4.1M | $384K | $285K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $55.1M | $39.4M | $14.0M | $1.8M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $4.2M | $2.8M | $1.1M | $308K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $8.2M | $5.9M | $1.9M | $400K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $4.2M | $2.9M | $1.1M | $272K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $906K | $631K | $229K | $46K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $721K | $203K | $515K | $3K |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $72K | $72K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $268K | $268K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $2.1M | $2.1M | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $5.3M | $991K | $2.2M | $2.0M |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.9M | $1.3M | $34K | $569K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2.7M | $2.0M | $584K | $115K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $4.6M | $3.9M | $563K | $163K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $7.3M | $5.3M | $1.6M | $398K |
| TravelLn 17 | $2.1M | $1.9M | $165K | $60K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $512K | $221K | $285K | $7K |
| InterestLn 20 | $12K | $12K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $7.1M | $4.4M | $2.4M | $291K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $958K | $631K | $252K | $76K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $45.8M | $45.5M | $262K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $166.9M | $130.1M | $29.7M | $7.1M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 14, 2026 | $180.7M | $169.7M | $11.0M | $514.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 14, 2025 | $170.3M | $166.9M | $3.5M | $469.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 15, 2024 | $186.9M | $192.3M | −$5.3M | $439.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 15, 2023 | $271.2M | $249.3M | $21.9M | $431.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 16, 2022 | $195.5M | $184.1M | $11.5M | $444.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 14, 2021 | $246.1M | $208.2M | $37.9M | $341.6M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $170,338,735 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 16 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $170,338,735 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $166,879,256 across 23 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $577,963,669 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $469,405,794 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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