Wyoming · Nonprofit
WONDER INSTITUTE
WONDER INSTITUTE (Wyoming) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $825,284 to it, the largest being COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE ($584,194). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $393k
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $825k
- Net assets
- $176k
What Wonder Institute does
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.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
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.
$163,206 spent$18,929 earned by the program66% of program spendingTETON COUNTY LIBRARY- WONDERLAB, RECORDING STUDIO & EDITING BAY: In partnership with the Teton County Library, the Wonder Institute created the WonderLab, the Wonder Institute Recording Studio, and a professional Editing Bay. The Wonderlab at Teton County Library has high-quality 3D printers, die cutters, and sewing and embroidery machines. The Recording Studio provides a professional setting for content creators to produce high-quality audio and video, from podcast recordings to YouTube videos. The Editing Bay is equipped with premium editing software and a color-accurate monitor for post-production work.
$7,272 spent3% of program spendingSCHOOLS PROGRAMS- ROBOTICS, WY HIGH SCHOOL, WE THE PEOPLE, and STOCK MARKET GAME: Wonder Institute supports the Jackson Hole RoboBroncs, a robotics program serving 150 students with 15 coaches across three levels- elementary clinics for 4th and 5th graders, developmental and competition programs at Jackson Hole Middle School, and four travel teams at Jackson Hole High School that compete statewide. Wonder Institute also supported a joint project between the robotics students and community partners to build a robotic sage grouse, bringing together engineering, craftsmanship and local identity. Wonder Institute supports students at WY Indian High School through CTE (Career and Technical Education) programming, providing resources and expertise for sewing and prototyping classes that give students access to hands-on making and practical skills.
$32,473 spent$11,793 earned by the program13% of program spendingCONSULTING AND PARTNERSHIPS: The Wonder Institute offers consulting services to community organizations, drawing on our expertise in hands-on learning, making and education. We work with partners such as Central Wyoming College, the Teton County School District, and nonprofits like First In Family to help them develop and strengthen programs that connect people to practical
$45,627 spent$21,000 earned by the program18% of program spending(cont) skills and applied education. We bring experience building spaces, designing curriculum, and running programs that meet communities where they are.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $248,578.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $225k to $57k (−75%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 4% · 2021 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
80% of WONDER INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
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
Gary Duquette
Executive Director (non-voting
Board chair
Veronica Silberberg
Chair,Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $35k → $93k.
5 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 77% 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 WONDER INSTITUTE’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
WONDER INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 71% of grant income and the top three 93%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
86% 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 WONDER INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 71% · 2018 100% · 2019 84% · 2020 65% · 2021 81% · 2022 53% · 2023 94% — growing more concentrated.
“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
67% of WONDER INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.
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
77% of WONDER INSTITUTE'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 $193k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from Wyoming funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $632k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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.
Against its field
WONDER INSTITUTE runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 16,849 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like WONDER INSTITUTE
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 Wyoming
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
88% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
83%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WONDER INSTITUTE: 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.
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 WONDER INSTITUTE?
- WONDER INSTITUTE (Wyoming) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $825,284 to it, the largest being COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE ($584,194). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does WONDER INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $825,284 in grants to WONDER INSTITUTE, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WONDER INSTITUTE?
- COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE is the largest funder on record, with $584,194 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WONDER INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Wyoming. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 10 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