Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 2015.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
93 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
17 people listed on the 990; $1.2M paid to officers and key staff.
Elliot Kirschner’s $219K as Executive PR is at the 68th percentile of top reported officer pay among 363 $1–10M science & technology 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Kirschner | $218,789 | $214,454 | $211,051 | $206,130 | $202,090 |
| Sarah Goodwin | $218,711 | $214,424 | $210,221 | $206,094 | $182,183 |
| Michael Walter - Senior Director | — | $161,913 | $158,729 | $152,754 | — |
| Jennifer Frazier - Senior Director | $152,885 | $137,553 | $103,149 | — | — |
| Shannon Behrman - Senior | $150,281 | — | — | — | — |
| Shannon Behrman | — | $146,528 | $141,584 | $127,388 | $122,423 |
| Evan Reeves - Director | $140,599 | $138,171 | $138,443 | $117,927 | $93,022 |
| Meredith Desalazar - Senior Produce | $117,661 | $119,618 | — | — | — |
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 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Creates free videos explaining modern biology and scientific discovery, and trains future scientists.
Questions for Science Communication Lab INC
Your first name shows with your question. Science Communication Lab INC answers here, for everyone.
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The Wonder Collaborative
Feature-length and short films for the general public the wonder collaborative is the SCL'S public film initiative, and is a creative partnership that brings innovative storytellers and the global scientific community together in a spirit of experimentation and collaboration to revolutionize science filmmaking with the wonder, awe, and…
Science Communication Lab
Seminars and courses for life scientists the SCL creates story-based multimedia and associated teaching materials that help audiences connect with scientific ideas, the people behind the science, and the real-world processes that drive it.
Enhancing biomedical training and diversity through a hispanic science network the SCL is producing free online courses for the yale ciencia academy (yca) for career development, a program that provides doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds in biomedical and behavioral sciences with opportunities for mentoring, networking…
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 | $717K | $481K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $3.0M | $1.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $16K | $10K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.2M | $2.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $357K | $198K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.9M | $2.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $37K | $37K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $605K | $500K | $95K | $9K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.1M | $1.1M | ||
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $50K | $49K | $701 | $118 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $123K | $121K | $2K | $291 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $122K | $120K | $2K | $288 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $739 | $739 | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $82K | $8K | $74K | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $924K | $890K | $34K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $59K | $56K | $3K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $75K | $71K | $4K | $28 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $27K | $19K | $8K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $62K | $59K | $3K | $319 |
| TravelLn 17 | $75K | $74K | $819 | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $10K | $9K | $590 | $146 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $14K | $13K | $840 | $207 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $9K | $5K | $4K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.4M | $3.1M | $195K | $48K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $2.2M | $3.4M | −$1.2M | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.2M | $4.3M | −$2.1M | $3.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $6.0M | $4.4M | $1.7M | $5.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.8M | $3.6M | $201K | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.0M | $3.1M | −$50K | $4.0M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,162,079 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 9 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,162,079 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,358,381 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,826,713 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,629,035 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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