Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2009.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
70 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
53 people listed on the 990; $4.9M paid to officers and key staff.
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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
See Wnet 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
Produces and broadcasts educational public media programming and digital curriculum resources to inspire lifelong learning for audiences of all ages.
Questions for Wnet
Your first name shows with your question. Wnet answers here, for everyone.
National and Local Program Services
Through thirteen productions LLC, wliw LLC, creative news group, LLC, interactive engagement group LLC, and public media NJ, 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.
Broadcast Station and Operations
Technical operations provides the transmission of the broadcast signal within the new york city metropolitan area and long island. During the 2019/2020 fiscal year, wnet broadcasts over 24,000 hours of programming on a 24-HOUR daily schedule primarily on the digital channels of wliw 21 and thirteen.
Education
Wnet produces a range of educational programming targeted for the full range of our audience, including pre-k through high school and college, as well as for life-long learners. During the year, wnet and thirteen broadcast over 15,000 hours of instructional programming.
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.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 | FY16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $159.4M | $153.1M | $147.0M | $133.1M | $108.2M |
| Given inLn 1b | $7.1M | $2.7M | $10.0M | $17.2M | $1.4M |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $6.6M | $5.9M | $5.7M | $5.2M | $4.6M |
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $12.9M | $11.0M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $165.1M | $174.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $20.0M | $24.2M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $306.8M | $318.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $24.8M | $24.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $282.0M | $294.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $3.7M | $1.3M | $2.0M | $327K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $42.6M | $27.6M | $8.8M | $6.1M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.9M | $1.4M | $309K | $204K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $4.4M | $2.7M | $1.1M | $653K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $3.0M | $1.9M | $657K | $435K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $2.9M | $311K | $809K | $1.8M |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $814K | $0 | $814K | $0 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $244K | $0 | $244K | $0 |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $105K | $0 | $105K | $0 |
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $634K | $634K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $151K | $0 | $151K | $0 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $4.1M | $3.2M | $259K | $655K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.7M | $1.3M | $300K | $136K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $7.9M | $2.9M | $1.1M | $3.9M |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $9.2M | $6.8M | $1.6M | $815K |
| TravelLn 17 | $1.1M | $946K | $80K | $53K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $374K | $184K | $82K | $108K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $3.2M | $2.2M | $738K | $245K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $678K | $378K | $225K | $74K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $34.9M | $33.5M | $249K | $1.2M |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $123.7M | $86.7M | $19.6M | $17.4M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 12, 2026 | $119.1M | $124.3M | −$5.2M | $388.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 13, 2025 | $138.4M | $131.4M | $7.0M | $379.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 15, 2024 | $111.1M | $133.3M | −$22.2M | $347.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 4, 2023 | $152.9M | $131.8M | $21.1M | $349.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 13, 2022 | $138.0M | $115.7M | $22.4M | $357.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 14, 2021 | $130.5M | $123.7M | $6.8M | $294.0M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $130,511,154 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 31 of 33 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $130,511,154 across 16 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $123,664,909 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $318,236,395 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $294,026,038 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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