Curiodyssey FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

San Mateo, CA501(c)(3)Since 1953Arts & CultureEIN 94-1262434Revenue $5.9M in FY2023

On file with the IRScuriodyssey.org1651 Coyote Point Dr, 94401-1002 · San Mateo, CATax-exempt since Dec 1955Publicly supported — 509(a)(2)

This page gets seen. Tell your story. Claim this org.

Curiodyssey, a science playground and zoo, inspires a love for science and curiosity about the world to create a brighter future. We DO this by letting kids loose to observe what is, ask "what if and let the natural world answer their questions. We give kids the real power of science.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$712K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $176K a year · 3% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
Fine: 73% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$712K
to officers and key staff · 11% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 11% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $1K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.2M
7% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 7% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
17
of 17 voting members
Looks good: 17 of 17 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$5.9M
-24% vs prior year
Spent
$6.7M
To programs
73%
Net assets
$15.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$5.9M
FY2023▼ -24%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$3.8M
FY2021$5.4M
FY2022$7.7M
FY2023$5.9M
FY2024$6.4M
FY2025$5.3M
Expenses
$6.7M
FY2023▲ +34%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$4.2M
FY2021$3.7M
FY2022$5.0M
FY2023$6.7M
FY2024$7.5M
FY2025$6.5M
Net assets
$15.1M
FY2023▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$12.5M
FY2021$14.2M
FY2022$15.8M
FY2023$15.1M
FY2024$14.2M
FY2025$13.1M

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending September 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1955.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $4.8M Management & general 14% · $923K Fundraising 13% · $895K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

Who runs it and what they're paid

23 people listed on the 990; $712K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$203,191Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$166,790Pt VII · Sec A
Officer and Director of Education
$132,156Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Wildlife
$107,022Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Exhibits
$102,991Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Aragon Burlingham’s $248K as Executive Director (thru 9/25) is at the 92nd 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Aragon Burlingham$247,887——$167,211$74,754—
Rachel Meyer————$185,318$225,051
Aragon Buringham—$220,787$203,191———
Maureen Garrett$154,825$147,601$166,790———
Jessa Barzelay$150,340$143,340————
Sierra Gonzalez$132,461$139,696————
Jessa Barzelay -Chief Programs——$132,156———
Joan Martel————$125,539$125,539

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 Curiodyssey executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

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

Ignites passion for science and world curiosity, fostering a brighter future.

Questions for Curiodyssey

Tap to ask. Curiodyssey sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Curiodyssey answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

3 programs · $3.6M · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Exhibits/Public Programs

In september 2022 the new bay gallery and labs modular units were placed on the building's foundation, launching the final phase of preparation for the anticipated opening in spring 2023. The exhibits team focused on completing the internal design-to-build of more than a dozen phenomenon-based experiences to occupy the new "viewpoint"…

$1.4Mprogram expense
02

Wildlife Habitats

Curiodyssey houses nearly 70 animals - from golden eagles to river otters - giving children the opportunity to experience and understand the natural world. All of our animals are non-releasable, meaning they have been injured or imprinted and would not survive if returned totheir natural habitats.

$1.2Mprogram expense
03

Community Outreach/Guest Services

We reached out in the community weekly through ongoing education programs in local low-income schools. We offered free admission and free or discounted field trips to the underserved. This year, we removed all fees and expanded the number of qualifying programs for families who participate in the increasingly popular museums for all…

$1.0Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$1K

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$5.9M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.1M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.3M
Other incomeLn 4–11$284K
Money outPt IX
$6.7M
Ln 25
Programscol B$4.8M
Managementcol C$923K
Fundraisingcol D$895K
Owns and owesPt X
$15.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.1M
Total assetsLn 16$16.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2M
PeoplePt VI, VII
23
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a17
IndependentVI 1b17
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$375K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$6K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$404K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$143K
Other incomeLn 4–11$284K
Gains on assetsLn 7−$9K
Total revenueLn 12$5.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2K
SavingsLn 2$4.1M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$4.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$808K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$10.6M
Total assetsLn 16$16.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2M
Net assetsLn 32$15.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 592
VolunteersI 6370
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.4M$4.1M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$753K$808K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$7.4M$10.6M
Total assetsLn 16$16.5M$16.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$762K$1.2M
Net assetsLn 32$15.8M$15.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$15K$15K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$437K$34K$79K$324K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$2.7M$2.5M$162K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$323K$221K$88K$14K
Payroll taxesLn 10$230K$192K$9K$30K
Legal feesLn 11b$9K$9K
Accounting feesLn 11c$49K$49K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$955K$619K$229K$107K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$35K$35K$106
Office expensesLn 13$147K$126K$13K$8K
Information technologyLn 14$21K$4K$17K
OccupancyLn 16$20K$20K
TravelLn 17$13K$10K$3K$297
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$7K$5K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$609K$595K$14K
InsuranceLn 23$142K$142K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$716K$302K$48K$366K
All other expensesLn 24e$240K$134K$60K$46K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.7M$4.8M$923K$895K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $5.3M$6.5M−$1.2M$13.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $6.4M$7.5M−$1.0M$14.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $5.9M$6.7M−$749K$15.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $7.7M$5.0M$2.8M$15.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $5.4M$3.7M$1.7M$14.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $3.8M$4.2M−$422K$12.5M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,909,724 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $5,422,929$4,140,304
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $1,362,813$1,341,763
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $648,415$143,322
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $313,294$284,335
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $7,747,451$5,909,724
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $6,500$15,000
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $2,900,924$3,681,582
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $2,055,958$2,962,546
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $4,963,382$6,659,128
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $2,784,069−$749,404
Part VI · Governance 17 of 17 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body17
VI-1b Independent voting members17
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,909,724 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $79,575 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$439,382
VIII-1c Fundraising events$403,961
VIII-1e Government grants$375,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$2,921,961
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$6,155
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$4,140,304
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,341,763$1,341,763
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $152,555$152,555
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $124,927$124,927
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax −$9,233−$9,233
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $2,261$2,261
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $77,572$77,572
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,421,338 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $348,082$5,909,724
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,659,128 across 18 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $15,000$15,000
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $33,840 · Management $78,960 · Fundraising $324,092$436,892
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $2,529,300 · Management $161,832$2,691,132
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $221,093 · Management $88,133 · Fundraising $14,115$323,341
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $191,717 · Management $8,826 · Fundraising $29,674$230,217
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $8,511$8,511
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $48,550$48,550
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $618,680 · Management $229,243 · Fundraising $106,678$954,601
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $35,161 · Fundraising $106$35,267
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $126,413 · Management $12,754 · Fundraising $8,105$147,272
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $4,128 · Management $17,323$21,451
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $19,621$19,621
IX-17 TravelPrograms $9,540 · Management $3,250 · Fundraising $297$13,087
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $5,294 · Management $1,990$7,284
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $595,051 · Management $13,587$608,638
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $142,278$142,278
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $301,853 · Management $48,387 · Fundraising $366,026$716,266
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $133,617 · Management $59,820 · Fundraising $46,283$239,720
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $4,840,308 · Management $923,444 · Fundraising $895,376$6,659,128
Part X · Balance sheet $16,321,781 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,700$1,724
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $6,418,508$4,147,360
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $1,795,896$524,864
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $27,336$148,089
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $50,270$50,044
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $77,234$36,137
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $7,413,104$10,605,865
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $752,757$807,698
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $16,536,805$16,321,781
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $756,701$1,184,940
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $5,523$22,388
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $762,224$1,207,328
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $10,364,935$13,321,165
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $5,409,646$1,793,288
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $15,774,581$15,114,453
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $16,536,805$16,321,781
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $15,114,453 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$5,909,724
XI-2 Total expenses$6,659,128
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$749,404
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$15,774,581
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$89,276
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$15,114,453

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.