WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

As filed

Subsection

03

NTEE code

A300

Classification

1000

Street

1 GUEST ST

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2024

• The WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. With its wide range of programs, events and services it is one of the nation's preeminent public media institutions.As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, ARTHUR and MOLLY OF DENALI, as well as WORLD Channel and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Bostons Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nations premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards.From its roots as a local public radio and TV station, GBH has continually enhanced its service to its community and the nation. It is deepening its commitment to delivering programs that foster opportunity and equityensuring that its content and workplace are inclusive and representative, broadening the reach of its news operations, and reaching audiences where they are. GBH shares stories across platforms on its website, social media and email newsletters. Through apps and podcasts and through virtual or in-person events GBH offers news panels, music events and educational activities.Our mission remains our North Star: "GBH enriches peoples lives through programs and services that educate, inspire and entertain, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives."That mission continually drives us to develop robust programs and resources for the public.Were supporting vulnerable learners through K-12 initiatives that inspire curiosity and creative thinking. We're a trusted news organization that is driven by facts rather than factions. We're promoting science literacy so that people can make informed decisions about our changing world. We're championing the arts and giving the public access to both the greatest performers and emerging talent. And we're constantly innovating to ensure that our services are available and relevant to all.Serving the public interest drives everything that we do, and every commitment that we make is to promote knowledge so that everyone can appreciate and engage with the world around them.GBH makes a commitment to:* Foster an informed and active citizenry* Make knowledge and the creative life of the arts, sciences, and humanities available to the widest possible public* Reflect the diversity of our audience, inviting a sense of inclusion and a better understanding of each other* Improve, for all people, access to public media* Be a trusted partner to parents and educators, providing programs and services that promote the healthy development of children* Serve the individual not just as a spectator but as a participant, able and willing to learn new skills through our programs and servicesThe year 2025 was unprecedented. We grappled with the end of federal funding, changes to the economics of the media business, and startling challenges within the political landscape. But one thing remained constant: GBHs mandate and mission are as clear as ever. For three quarters of a century, weve told stories that matter. We are the most trusted media outlet in our region. And were not stopping. We are in forward motion. We will continue reporting and delivering the fact-based journalism that people rely on; presenting stories of regional, national, and global importance; and illuminating communities and narratives historically excluded. Well share dramas and arts and cultural programs that deepen our sense of empathy, science stories that widen our understanding of the world, history content that informs our nations future, and vital educational programming for children and their families. In order to thrive in this next era, GBH is pushing forward and branching out, pursuing a digital-first approach without losing sight of the programming and traditions that have been our hallmark for generations.For nearly 75 years, GBH has provided revelatory journalism and storytelling, powerful filmmaking, educational programming, and so much more. In 2025, we continued our growth from a 20th century broadcaster to a 21st century digital media powerhouse, and we called upon our generous supporters like you to join us. Together, we are moving forward.The year 2025 brought many steps in this transformational journey. Our YouTube and social channels reached one billion views. We leaned into local storytelling and community engagement from GBH News, Stories from the Stage, GBH Amplifies, Local Lens, and Outspoken Saturdays; digital-first programs such as GBH News Rooted and The Curiosity Desk; and expanded events at the GBH Boston Public Library Studio. GBH doubled down on our commitment to meeting the needs of our community. In a collaboration with Ken Burns for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, we showed how essential public media is to our national identity and memory. With AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, we presented the untold stories that shape our nation, while FRONTLINE brought audiences a deeper understanding of the most pressing issues around the globe. NOVAs trusted science journalism continued to showcase new discoveries about our planet, our health, and our world. And MASTERPIECE gave us dramatic, renewing moments amid it all.On the day federal funding ended Oct. 1, 2025 we launched the Fund the Future Campaign. We are enormously grateful for the superb generosity of our members and supporters, long-time and newcomers, who embraced this time as an opportunity for progress and new ideas. Our unwavering commitment to powerful storytelling and trusted journalism has made us a leader in public media for decades. Thanks to you, the best is yet to be.Journalism - Connecting the CommonwealthOnce again, GBH News was named most trusted local media outlet, delivering news and information across the state at a time when fact-based journalism is needed more than ever.Connecting the Commonwealth, the reporting partnership between three newsrooms GBH News (including our State House and Worcester bureaus), CAI on the Cape and Islands, and New England Public Media (NEPM) in Springfield has deepened regional coverage and established a new model of collaboration.GBH News RootedIn 2025, GBH launched GBH News Rooted, hosted by Paris Alston, the new program in the tradition of Say Brother and Basic Black, the longest-running program on public television focusing on people of color. From covering Hurricane Melissas impact on Jamaica to visiting a Black woman-owned bakery in Dorchester and discussing the efficacy of a boycott targeting major retailers, the show focuses on Black communities around the city and around the world in all of their vibrancy. One of our goals, says GBH News Executive Editor Lee Hill about the digital-first program, was to double the audience of Basic Blacks last season. Weve already quadrupled it with our online content alone. These segments that pierce the zeitgeist, as Hill puts it, have generated more than a million views on YouTube and Instagram since the shows January launch, driving significant engagement from younger audiences.The Curiosity Desk Makes Multiplatform DebutThe Curiosity Desk, hosted by Edgar B. Herwick III, debuted a half-hour television special about the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 and answered the question: Can you really still smell the molasses on a hot summer day in the North End? The show continued reimagining itself and producing compelling content that thrived as a linear broadcast, 10-minute YouTube videos, 60-second digital shorts, and now a daily radio show on GBH 89.7.FRONTLINE Youth Civic Voices InitiativeFRONTLINEs collaborative fellowship with MITs Center for Constructive Communication and the nonprofit Cortico continued for a second year. A new cohort of Boston-based students (ages 1621) learned about the intersection of journalistic storytelling, emerging technologies, and civic dialogue. With the support of mentors, peer relationships, and technological training, these students fostered productive conversations and developed important research and scholarship skills.Childrens Media and EducationFor over 50 years, GBHs commitment to free and accessible childrens and educational program

  Expenses $197,124,053 · Grants $1,430,859 · Revenue $67,615,271

As filed on the 2024 return.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

The first 25 listed. Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

• 2024

  Revenue

  $215,642,285

  Expenses

  $237,191,088

  Contributions

  $114,999,635

  Grants paid

  $1,430,859

• 2023

  Revenue

  $225,004,242

  Expenses

  $231,562,495

  Contributions

  $111,052,276

  Grants paid

  $1,559,080

• 2022

  Revenue

  $220,582,541

  Expenses

  $225,572,032

  Contributions

  $129,721,366

  Grants paid

  $3,653,460

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

• 2024 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2023 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2022 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2021 · 990

  Revenue

  $211,952,357

  Expenses

  $212,079,070

  Assets (EOY)

  $924,486,582

• 2021 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2020 · 990

  Revenue

  $213,568,056

  Expenses

  $208,584,736

  Assets (EOY)

  $1,043,659,310

• 2020 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2019 · 990

  Revenue

  $198,376,753

  Expenses

  $222,280,161

  Assets (EOY)

  $841,787,434

• 2018 · 990

  Revenue

  $204,723,153

  Expenses

  $220,616,264

  Assets (EOY)

  $849,469,719

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $231,841,889

  Expenses

  $214,896,775

  Assets (EOY)

  $914,594,427

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

• Pellet Productions Inc

  $1,273,048

  2023 · Film production service for project

• Apograph Productions Inc

  $377,835

  2024 · Film production service for project

• New York Hall of Science

  $333,333

  2022 · Digital media assets

• Pellet Productions Inc

  $313,016

  2024 · Film production service for project

• University of Washington

  $223,234

  2024 · Research services for the project

• Apograph Productions Inc

  $215,913

  2023 · Film production service for project

• IEarn Inc

  $206,269

  2022 · Program services for the project

• Education Development Center

  $188,879

  2024 · Research services for programs

• NORC

  $185,326

  2024 · Research services for the project

• George Blood LP

  $138,353

  2022 · Digitizing media for archive projct

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $17,289,460

  2024 · TVPRG

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $10,691,899

  2023 · TVPRG

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $7,959,100

  2024 · TVCSG

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $7,516,366

  2023 · TVCSG

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $6,917,157

  2022 · TVCSG

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $4,688,853

  2022 · TVPRG

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $4,266,991

  2024 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $2,733,993

  2022 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $2,342,307

  2023 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  $1,654,864

  2022 · OSS

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Related organizations

From Schedule R Part II, where a filer lists the tax-exempt organizations it is related to by control. It does not record shared board members or money.

Taxable family

From Schedule R Parts I, III and IV: entities that legally are the filer, and taxable partnerships, corporations and trusts it is related to. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money.

Other IRS files