Wonder Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 651315226
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2007
- Location
- Jackson, WY, USA
- Phone
- 3074132436
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $393,178
- Expenses
- $283,589
- Assets
- $176,392
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GARY DUQUETTE (Executive Director (non-voting)
Highest reported compensation
- GARY DUQUETTE (Executive Director (non-voting): $106,667 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We empower leaders by providing vital community spaces and innovative programming. We seek to support a thriving community where curiosity is ignited, innovation is cultivated, and individuals of all backgrounds are empowered to shape their future through hands-on learning and collaborative creation.
What it reported doing in 2025
THE WONDER LAB: The Wonder Labs are community spaces dedicated to creativity innovation, and imagination. We provide community members the opportunity to actively create, experiment and problem-solve. Classes are offered at all of our Wonder Labs locations. The Wonder Labs at Deer Drive include a Community WoodShop, a Silversmithing Studio, a Sewing Studio, and a Prototyping Lab. The Community WoodShop is a 1,600 square-foot space outfitted with the latest woodworking equipment and technology. The WoodShop offers safety training, classes, and memberships. The Silversmithing Studio is equipped with casting equipment and tools for designing and fabricating metal jewelry and objects. The Sewing Studio features industrial sewing machines and embroidery machines for garment construction, textile arts, and soft good production. The Prototyping Lab is equipped with 3D printers, a CNC router, and laser cutters for design, iteration and precision fabrication.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
- Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 27.9%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 37.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $249K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.