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New York · Nonprofit

Wings World Quest Inc

Wings World Quest Inc (New York) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,123,020 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($598,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 80% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.

Revenue FY2024
$639k
Funders on record
27
Grants received
$1.1M
Net assets
$180k
13/27 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 70%
01What it does

What Wings World Quest Inc does

Mission

Wings worldquest recognizes and supports extraordinary women leaders in science and exploration investigating solutions to global problems.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. The wings women of discovery fellows program recognizes extraordinary women who are making discoveries and finding solutions to global problems through bold research, conservation and exploration projects. The wings fellows program has become a powerful network for women working in the field sciences to actively engage in interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. Each newly inducted fellow is recognized at the women of discovery gala and receives a $20,000 grant to support her work. As of 2025, wings has supported 115 women through this program.

    $369,074 spentof which $100,000 as grants
    74% of program spending
  2. In Her Nature: Wildlife docuseries airing on PBS Nature featuring leading women in conservation.

    $91,000 spent
    18% of program spending
  3. The wings flag is recognized as a symbol of excellence in discovery andknowledge and certifies the significance of its carrier's endeavor. More than 150scientists and explorers have flown the numbered wings flags across more than 80 countries and at both poles, establishing a unique bond of high achievers, creative thinkers, and bold leaders notable for their courage and commitment to discovery. Flag carriers are women leading original field research or documentation related to an expedition and/or research project, including lab research assessing samples/data collected in the field, that focus on investigating questions about the nature of our world and advancing conservation efforts on land, air and water through science and advocacy. This honor comes with a grant award between $2,000 - $5,000 dependant on the size of the expedition.

    $30,500 spentof which $30,500 as grants
    6% of program spending
  4. WINGS Explorer Talks, a signature public program that amplifies the voices and work of women scientists and explorers from around the world. These events provide educational opportunities for diverse audiences, ranging from students to the general publiC, by showcasing WINGS Explorers groundbreaking research, discoveries, and fieldwork. WINGS provides each speaker with a $1,000 stipend in recognition of their time and expertise, ensuring that women scientists and explorers are compensated for sharing their knowledge. By highlighting diverse role models in science, conservation, and exploration, Explorer Talks inspire the next generation, broaden public understanding of global challenges, and build support for innovative solutions. Through both in-person and virtual formats, WINGS reaches thousands of participants annually, extending the impact of our Fellows work beyond the field and fostering a community engaged in science, conservation, and discovery.

    $10,172 spentof which $4,000 as grants
    2% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $500,746.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20202020 Revenue 100 ($155k) Expenses 100 ($73k) Net assets 100 ($154k)2021 Revenue 51 ($79k) Expenses 155 ($113k) Net assets 77 ($119k)2022 Revenue 159 ($246k) Expenses 294 ($215k) Net assets 98 ($150k)2023 Revenue 345 ($534k) Expenses 605 ($442k) Net assets 155 ($238k)2024 Revenue 413 ($639k) Expenses 954 ($697k) Net assets 117 ($180k)
20202021202220232024
Revenue (413)Expenses (954)Net assets (117)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $193k to $309k (+60%).

$154k
$124k
$193k
$309k
$282k
20202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

58% of Wings World Quest Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 19,547 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.

$82k
’20
−$35k
’21
$31k
’22
$92k
’23
−$58k
’24
3.2
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Meredith Ayan

CEO

Board chair

Claire Werner

Chair

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

202220232024
Listed141516
Joined·+3+1
No longer listed·20
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 15 funders, grant income rose $8k → $373k.

8 of 27 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 80% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of Wings World Quest Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

Wings World Quest Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 53% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

80% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Wings World Quest Inc.

53%
largest funder
71%
top three
~3
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 45% · 2020 62% · 2021 51% · 2022 73% · 2023 63% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

29% of Wings World Quest Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

80% of Wings World Quest Inc's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $230k that is directly attributable, 89% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 10 states.

WA
IL
NY
MA
IN
OH
PA
DE
NC
SC

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
New York out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $893k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

Wings World Quest Inc has grown faster than three-quarters of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−9% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve3.2mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)43% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like Wings World Quest Inc

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In New York

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

72% of spending goes to programs.

Program 72%Management 16%Fundraising 12%

Governance

16
board members
88%
independent
–Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention–Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

100%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

NY

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Wings World Quest Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds Wings World Quest Inc?
Wings World Quest Inc (New York) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,123,020 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($598,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 80% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
How many funders does Wings World Quest Inc have?
IRS filings report 27 organizations giving $1,123,020 in grants to Wings World Quest Inc, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of Wings World Quest Inc?
VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $598,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like Wings World Quest Inc find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

Play a game about who funds Wings World Quest →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 27 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing