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Wnet EIN 26-2810489

Wnet

EIN  26-2810489 Public charity (501(c)(3)) New York, NY Founded 2008
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/6/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Produces and broadcasts educational public media programming and digital curriculum resources to inspire lifelong learning for audiences of all ages.
Leadership
Neal Shapiro · President, CEO · $800K
Money in and out
$119.1M revenue, $124.3M expenses
Bottom line
66% program efficiency

Produces and broadcasts educational public media programming and digital curriculum resources to inspire lifelong learning for audiences of all ages. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $119.1M in revenue, $124.3M in expenses, and $388.2M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$119.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$124.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$388.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$5.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.19 Fundraising $0.15
Program efficiency
66%
of spending reaches programs▼ -5% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
28.4mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +20% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-4%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -187% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$119.1M
FY2024▼ -14%
Expenses
$124.3M
FY2024▼ -5%
Total assets
$412.6M
FY2024▲ +1%
Total liabilities
$24.4M
FY2024▼ -18%
Total revenue
$119.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$124.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$388.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$5.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$412.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B66%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 330
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 430
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $81.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

National and Local Program Services

Through thirteen productions LLC, wliw LLC, interactive engagement group LLC, audio enterprise group LLC, public media new jersey, inc., wnet produces both national and local television and radio programming of the highest possible quality for distribution to other public broadcasting stations including thirteen.

$52.9Mprogram expense
02

Television Broadcast Station and Operations

Technical operations provides the transmission of the broadcast signal within the new york city television market. During the 2024/2025 fiscal year on a 24-HOUR daily schedule, wnet broadcasts over 78,800 hours to the new york city market on stations wnet and wliw.

$27.2Mprogram expense
03

Education

Wnet produces a range of educational programming targeted for the full range of our audience, including pre-k through high school, as well as for life-long learners. This includes original educational video and game-based programming that directly supports the development of math, science, foundational reading, social studies, and social…

$1.7Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWnet
EINHdr · item D26-2810489
Principal addressHdr · item CNew York, NY
WebsiteHdr · item Jwnet.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2008
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNY
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A32)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 2009

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a30
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b30
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Neal Shapiro
President, CEO
$799,774Pt VII · Sec A
Vanessa Wise
VP, Advancement Chief Strategy Officer
$428,805Pt VII · Sec A
Stephen Segaller
VP, Programming
$420,360Pt VII · Sec A
Debasish Mishra
Chief Technology Officer
$392,800Pt VII · Sec A
Tamisha Chestnut
VP, People & Culture
$383,359Pt VII · Sec A
Daniel Greenberg
Chief Digital Officer
$382,790Pt VII · Sec A
Caroline Croen
VP, CFO & Treasurer
$378,976Pt VII · Sec A
Robert Feinberg
VP, Business Development, Clo & Secretary
$358,217Pt VII · Sec A

Neal Shapiro’s $800K as President, CEO is at the 58th 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

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Neal Shapiro$799,774$787,221$854,024$728,737$717,834$715,877
Hari Sreenivasan———$441,553$439,498$411,119
Vanessa Wise$428,805$368,138$350,991$320,219$314,554$319,136
Stephen Segaller$420,360$415,825$421,940$388,026$383,438$388,875
David Horn$318,362$353,691$347,716$315,043$325,051$394,261
Debasish Mishra$392,800$306,020$313,410$277,455——
Tamisha Chestnut$383,359$291,650————
Daniel Greenberg$382,790—$278,205——$248,359

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.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$95.7M · 80%
Investment income$15.2M · 13%
Program service revenue$7.4M · 6%
Other revenue$751K · 1%
Contributions & grants80%$95.7M
Investment income13%$15.2M
Program service revenue6%$7.4M
Other revenue1%$751K
— government grantsLn 1e$22.4M
Total revenueLn 12$119.1M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.19 Fundraising $0.15
Program services66%$81.8M
Management & general19%$24.1M
Fundraising15%$18.4M
Total functional expensesLn 25$124.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$15.6M
Total assetsLn 16$412.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$24.4M
Total net assetsLn 32$388.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed1.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $287.5M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $124.3M · Less non-cash grants $2.7M · Cash operating expenses/yr $121.6M
28.4 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $81.8M · Total expenses $124.3M
66%
Management & General
Management & general $24.1M · Total expenses $124.3M
19%
Fundraising
Fundraising $18.4M · Total expenses $124.3M
15%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $18.7M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $85.4M
$0.22 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $95.7M · Total revenue $119.1M
80%
Government reliance
Government grants $22.4M · Total revenue $119.1M
19%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $7.4M · Total revenue $119.1M
6%
Investment reliance
Investment income $15.2M · Total revenue $119.1M
+13%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $7.4M · Total expenses $124.3M
6%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $119.1M · Prior year $138.4M
-14%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $130.5M · FY2024 $119.1M
-2%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $388.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $119.1M · Expenses $124.3M
-4%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $412.6M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $388.2M · Total assets $412.6M
94%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $134.8M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $137.0M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $412.6M
66%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Neal Shapiro · Reported title PRESIDENT, CEO · Highest reported compensation $800K · Total expenses $124.3M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $51.7M · Total expenses $124.3M
42%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $691K · Gross raised $8.6M
8%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 66%——
Overhead ratio 19%——
Fundraising cost ratio 19%——
Revenue growth -14%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Gregg Peters Monsees FoundationFY2025$100K
Better Angels Society INCFY2025$65K
Corporation for Public BroadcastingFY2025$45K
Pestcoe Family FoundationFY2025$25K
T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving INCFY2025$19K
The Ayco Charitable FoundationFY2025$12K
Russell Colgate Fund INCFY2025$5K
Howard and Sarah D Solomon FoundationFY2025$5K
Total grants receivedfrom 10 funders$282K
See all 10 funders →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$138.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$111.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$152.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$138.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$130.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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