Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Apr 2014.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
82 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
40 people listed on the 990; $1.7M paid to officers and key staff.
Tamara Christian’s $472K as President / COO is at the 75th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M 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 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamara Christian | $472,240 | $409,241 | $380,870 | $367,122 | $259,217 |
| Christopher Costa | $380,833 | $329,458 | $303,958 | $286,750 | $212,000 |
| Melissa Ricks | $209,533 | $193,390 | — | — | — |
| Kathryn Mannix | $203,657 | — | — | — | — |
| Michael Kruelle | $201,358 | $189,769 | $170,831 | $145,308 | $111,800 |
| Timothy Miller | $200,142 | $190,053 | $158,342 | $143,867 | — |
| Ursula Oaks | — | $185,483 | $166,082 | $161,417 | $120,522 |
| Stephanie Wood | — | — | $155,513 | — | — |
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.
See International Spy Museum 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
Educates the public on the importance of intelligence through exhibits and programs.
Questions for International Spy Museum
Your first name shows with your question. International Spy Museum answers here, for everyone.
"the international spy museum has the largest collection of historic espionage artifacts on public display. In 2024, the museum's displays, media and interactive experiences featured the history, people, tradecraft and impact of intelligence on the world. In 2024, the museum welcomed a record of over 700,000 visitors.
"student Workshops & Resources
The international spy museum offers a wide variety of workshops (onsite and virtual) & downloadable resources that encourage active learning and meet national curriculum and common core standards.
"access to Spy
Opening our doors to communities facing barriers is a series of programs for people with physical, cognitive, and financial challenges. In 2024 the museum supported these communities through both onsite and virtual 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.
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.4M | $1.3M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $19.8M | $26.4M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $114.5M | $108.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $142.4M | $145.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $47.5M | $46.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $94.9M | $98.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $611K | $452K | $115K | $43K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $11.1M | $8.2M | $2.1M | $785K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $481K | $357K | $91K | $34K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $870K | $645K | $164K | $62K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $886K | $656K | $167K | $63K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $26K | $3K | $22K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $63K | $54K | $8K | $175 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $153K | $148K | $5K | $81 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.1M | $1.1M | $337 | $28K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $924K | $728K | $137K | $58K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $137K | $121K | $15K | $686 |
| TravelLn 17 | $488K | $367K | $86K | $35K |
| InterestLn 20 | $1.3M | $1.1M | $146K | $6K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $7.2M | $6.3M | $811K | $36K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $353K | $312K | $40K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $3.6M | $3.4M | $196K | $28K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $79K | $67K | $6K | $6K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $29.4M | $24.1M | $4.1M | $1.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Oct 21, 2025 | $31.8M | $29.4M | $2.4M | $98.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 11, 2024 | $29.0M | $26.2M | $2.9M | $94.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 | $29.0M | $24.1M | $4.9M | $92.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 11, 2022 | $22.1M | $20.7M | $1.4M | $79.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 3, 2021 | $5.8M | $18.8M | −$13.0M | $75.3M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $31,785,524 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 29 of 29 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $31,785,524 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $29,407,042 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $145,576,533 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $98,659,434 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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