2023 Annual Report Banner - New Directions

Financial Impact

Thanks to the support and generosity of our philanthropic partners, donors, members, volunteers, alumni, and educators, the Society is in a strong financial position.

In 2023, 85 cents of every dollar donated to the Society supported our programmatic work to advance our mission. Our three strategic program areas are science journalism, world-class competitions for middle and high school students, and STEM outreach and equity.

Science competitions and in-person activities account for 52% of program spending. Our growing outreach and equity programming, together with our work aimed at building our alumni community, accounted for 14% of program spending. Science News Media Group’s work accounted for 34% of program spending. The remaining 15 cents are allocated to general and administrative costs (7 cents) and fundraising (8 cents).

Finalists work together on a group challenge at Thermo Fisher JIC 2023

The Society overall balance sheet continues to be healthy, with total net assets of $100 million, composed of unrestricted net assets of $25 million and restricted net assets of $75 million.

The Society carries no long-term financing and owns its primary office real estate. As a result, unrestricted current assets exceed current liabilities by $38 million, resulting in a 4.79 ratio of current assets to current liabilities. The Society’s unrestricted investment balance is entirely liquid and accounts for 80% of current assets composed of cash, investments, prepaid expenses and the amount of grants receivable in the next year.

Three women (Yajaira Torres-De Jesús, Jill Hansen, and Yolanda Payne) pose for a photo at the Research Teachers Conference.

The investment portfolio holdings are well diversified and professionally managed to take advantage of market growth while minimizing risk of loss. Restricted assets make up the largest asset class and are mostly grants receivable for future funding commitments from Regeneron and other funders for science competitions and other program work, with all receivables to be provided within the next five years.

2022 Science News and Science News Explores magazine covers

The Society is committed to responsibly managing our financial resources. Thank you to all of our stakeholders for trusting us to steward your contributions to the greatest need of our programs.

ISEF 2023 Grand Award Ceremony, Dallas Texas - top award winners

2023 Revenue and Expenses

Pie charts of FY 2023 operating revenue and expenses