Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Dec 1975.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
69 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
28 people listed on the 990; $118K paid to officers and key staff.
Cheryl Jensen’s $73K as Interim CEO is at the 13th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alissa Light | $45,208 | $135,000 | $42,801 | — | — |
| Michael Sanders | — | — | — | $123,372 | $123,372 |
| Joe Imholte | — | $104,755 | $100,335 | — | — |
| Cheryl Jensen | $72,846 | — | — | — | — |
| Heather Walch | — | — | $61,789 | — | — |
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
Inspires a passion for innovation through engaging programs and activities.
Questions for The Bakken
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Education Programs
The bakken provides science, technology, engineering and math (stem) experiences through offsite outreach programs, onsite field trips, innovative camps and workshops. Our programs inspire the next generation of innovators to transform the future.
Public Programs
The bakken inspires a passion for innovation for all children, families, and adults visiting the museum. Programming includes educational activities for children such as discovery days and science studios, tours, evening events for adults, and partnerships with community organizations .
Exhibits and Collections
The bakken's exhibits are hands-on displays that educate, inspire, and spark innovation within our visitors. The bakken's underground vaults house a collection of artifacts and books. The scope of the collections is the intersection of the history of electricity and magentism, and the life sciences and medicine.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $90K | $63K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $7.7M | $8.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $4.5M | $4.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $16.8M | $16.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.1M | $684K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $15.7M | $15.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $123K | $62K | $62K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.2M | $1.0M | $101K | $100K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $38K | $31K | $4K | $4K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $90K | $71K | $9K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $97K | $73K | $12K | $12K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $29K | $29K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $10K | $10K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $53K | $53K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $208K | $67K | $99K | $41K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $8K | $7K | $654 | $64 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2K | $2K | $190 | $20 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $192K | $155K | $17K | $19K |
| TravelLn 17 | $14K | $11K | $2K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $5K | $4K | $867 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $37K | $37K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $350K | $282K | $33K | $35K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $56K | $45K | $5K | $6K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $163K | $95K | $65K | $3K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $1K | $1K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.7M | $1.9M | $530K | $293K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $1.7M | $2.7M | −$938K | $15.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.6M | $3.1M | −$1.5M | $15.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.8M | $3.0M | −$1.2M | $16.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.6M | $2.7M | $847K | $18.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.7M | $3.5M | −$1.8M | $18.0M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,740,073 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 25 of 27 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,740,073 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,677,974 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $16,504,732 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $15,821,116 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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