Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 1987.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Who runs it and what they're paid
21 people listed on the 990; $170K paid to officers and key staff.
Grant Spickelmier’s $170K as Executive Director is at the 85th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1137 $1–10M animals 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Spickelmier | $169,741 | $161,686 | $152,612 | $139,520 | $133,349 | $155,452 |
| Chad Richardson | — | — | — | $100,513 | — | — |
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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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
Educates and promotes wolf conservation, highlighting their vital role in wild lands.
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Public Programs/Exhibits
The international wolf center welcomed nearly 39,000 visitors to its interpretive center in ely, MN in 2025. Admittance to the visitor center allows visitors to experience daily programs led by education staff, the discover wolves!
Education Programming
1,907 participants learned about wolves during their customized group visit to the visitor center. 104 participants joined a learning adventure and explored the world of wolves through hands-on activities, presentations, and games as well as off-site hikes and howling adventures in the superior national forest.
Online Programming
The international wolf center reaches audiences beyond our interpretive center through online programs including 16 webinars with 3,527 attendees. Webinars teach about wolf behavior, pack dynamics and wolf research around the world. 4,825 students participated in a wolflink virtual learning field trip.
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Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.7M | $5.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $2.0M | $2.4M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $7.3M | $8.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $297K | $571K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $7.1M | $7.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $179K | $124K | $37K | $19K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.0M | $713K | $211K | $107K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $161K | $123K | $22K | $16K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $104K | $73K | $20K | $11K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $3K | $3K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $27K | $27K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $6K | $1K | $5K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $84K | $84K | $228 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $187K | $106K | $22K | $58K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $19K | $15K | $4K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $185K | $157K | $16K | $13K |
| TravelLn 17 | $16K | $13K | $2K | $2K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $45 | $45 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $165K | $161K | $3K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $53K | $53K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $188K | $125K | $26K | $36K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $7K | $7K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.4M | $1.8M | $389K | $267K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $3.1M | $2.4M | $704K | $7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $3.3M | $2.3M | $981K | $7.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.9M | $2.3M | $599K | $6.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.4M | $2.3M | $112K | $5.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.3M | $1.9M | $1.4M | $5.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $2.3M | $1.9M | $432K | $3.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,118,858 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,414,754 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $8,326,099 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $7,754,980 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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