The Tech Interactive

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942864660
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4087956116
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,052,827
Expenses
$21,309,425
Assets
$86,148,704
Liabilities
$3,187,754

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

38 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATRINA STEVENS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • NATALIE TAYLOR (VICE PRESIDENT, ENGAGEMENT AND EXP)
  • DORIS BELL (VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATRINA STEVENS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $608,448 total reported compensation
  • NATALIE TAYLOR (VICE PRESIDENT, ENGAGEMENT AND EXP): $193,130 total reported compensation
  • ERICA BARRUTO (CHIEF OF STAFF, VP OF EXHIBITS): $186,647 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The tech is a mission driven organization that develops the next generation of problem-solvers locally, nationally and globally, through the creation and distribution of world-class immersive steam education resources. We believe that everyone is born an innovator who can change the world for the better. The tech is dedicated to empowering marginalized communities to thrive and create meaningful change for everyone. This commitment resonates deeply with our core values and unwavering dedication to promoting stem inclusion for all. Through fostering a culture of inclusivity, both within our organization and beyond, we aim to dismantle barriers and forge strong connections across diverse communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Exhibits, programs, & experiencesthe tech interactive is a 130,000-foot science center located in downtown san jose, the heart of silicon valley. It offers hands-on exhibits, activities, experimental labs, and design challenges that provide opportunities to explore how technological innovation is changing our lives and helping us tackle big challenges. The tech hosts as many as 500,000 people a year in its galleries and programs and has approximately 3,500 member households.2025 was a landmark year for the tech interactive, defined by bold new exhibitions, a deeper focus on artificial intelligence (ai), and a renewed commitment to inclusive, hands-on learning experiences. The tech's learning experiences include over 100 interactive exhibits, hands-on science labs, rotating weekend activities and daily educational imax films. In 2025 we opened two new galleries: ai sandbox, featuring dream garden, an ai-powered immersive room, and pixel playground where visitors of all ages can explore emerging technologies hands-on. Since 1988, the tech challenge has been our signature team engineering design competition inspiring over 40,000 students in grades 4-12 to design and build devices that solve real-world problems. In 2025, more than 8,500 students participated in the program. The tech challenge has connected with various ethnic and socioeconomic communities to introduce students not only to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) concepts, but also to the thrill of hands-on learning and real-world design.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -51.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.04; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $16.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $608K · 38 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $276K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.