Experience Learning Community EIN 91-1626784

Experience Learning Community FY2020 filing

EIN  91-1626784 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Seattle, WA Founded 1992
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 8/10/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Inspire and connect people through creative experiences that change lives.
Leadership
Alexis Lee · Executive Director · $259K
Money in and out
$6.9M revenue, $19.9M expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency

Inspire and connect people through creative experiences that change lives. For fiscal year 2020 it reported $6.9M in revenue, $19.9M in expenses, and $143.1M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2020
Total revenue
$6.9M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$19.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$143.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$13.0M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
8.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-189%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2020 · Form 990
Revenue
$6.9M
FY2020
Expenses
$19.9M
FY2020
Total assets
$145.8M
FY2020
Total liabilities
$2.8M
FY2020
Total revenue
$6.9M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$19.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$143.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$13.0M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$145.8M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 312
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 412
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $16.0M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Mopop operates an iconic, architecturally significant and custom-built museum building, designed by renowned architect frank o. Gehry. Program costs associated with the building include depreciation of $6,914,125 and $6,822,749 and occupancy of $923,522 and $2,164,815 respectively for 2020 and 2019.

$7.7Mprogram expense
02

Expenditures related to the curation, development, fabrication, installation, production, and display of exhibitions and installations that advance the museum's mission of connecting our community.

$7.6Mprogram expense
03

Expenditures related to mopop's educational in-museum and outreach programs provide a variety of opportunities for students, teachers, and families including museum tours and workshops, school-based outreach programs, and professional development for teachers.

$757Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CExperience Learning Community
EINHdr · item D91-1626784
Principal addressHdr · item CSeattle, WA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.mopop.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1992
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A50)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1994

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a12
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b12
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$258,524Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Sales & Service
$170,674Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$155,099Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Museum Operations
$142,348Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Curatorial
$138,360Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Education & Programs
$123,959Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Human Resources
$119,864Pt VII · Sec A
IT Manager
$113,324Pt VII · Sec A

Michele Smith’s $407K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 66th 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michele Smith$407,079$228,046
Alexis Lee$257,244$265,060$258,524
Jennifer Chu$199,548$222,604$238,111$156,975$155,099
Toni Godwin Sells$195,791
Ste Marchio$186,575$147,657
Lauren Burkle$162,089$184,272$170,674
Jacob McMurray$176,132$145,723$144,239$138,768$138,360
Nicole Carrido$170,579

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$4.0M · 57%
Program service revenue$3.0M · 43%
Investment income$113K · 2%
Contributions & grants57%$4.0M
Program service revenue43%$3.0M
Investment income2%$113K
— government grantsLn 1e$1.9M
Total revenueLn 12$6.9M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program services85%$17.0M
Management & general10%$2.0M
Fundraising5%$1.0M
Total functional expensesLn 25$19.9M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$14.5M
Total assetsLn 16$145.8M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2.8M
Total net assetsLn 32$143.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed8.7

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2020 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $14.5M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $19.9M · Less non-cash grants $77K · Cash operating expenses/yr $19.9M
8.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $17.0M · Total expenses $19.9M
85%
Management & General
Management & general $2.0M · Total expenses $19.9M
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.0M · Total expenses $19.9M
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $1.0M · Solicited contributions $2.1M
$0.48 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $4.0M · Total revenue $6.9M
57%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.9M · Total revenue $6.9M
27%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $3.0M · Total revenue $6.9M
43%
Investment reliance
Investment income $113K · Total revenue $6.9M
+2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $3.0M · Total expenses $19.9M
15%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $6.9M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $143.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $6.9M · Expenses $19.9M
-189%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $145.8M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $143.1M · Total assets $145.8M
98%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $145.8M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Alexis Lee · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $259K · Total expenses $19.9M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $8.9M · Total expenses $19.9M
44%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 10%
Fundraising cost ratio 25%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 1 grant · $10K · 2024–2024
Elc DevelopmentWA · FY2024$10,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$21.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$24.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$19.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$23.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$6.9M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2020IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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