l efile GRAPHIC p rint - DO NOT PROCESS I As Filed Data - I DLN: 93493131030967 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax OMB No 1545-0047 Form 990 ij Under section 501 ( c), 527, or 4947 ( a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code ( except private foundations) 2 p 1 5 Do not enter social security numbers on this form as it may be made public _ Department of the ► Treasury Information about Form 990 and its instructions is at www IRS gov/form990 ► Inspection Internal Revenue Service A For the 2015 calendar year, or tax y ear bi inning 07-01-2015 , and ending 06-30-2016 C Name of organization B Check if applicable D Employer identification number SESAME WORKSHOP Address change 13-2655731 DARYL MINTZ EVP & CFO F Name change % Doing business as Initial return F_ Final E Telephone number return / terminated Number and street ( or P 0 box if mail is not delivered to street addre5 1900 Broadway [Amended return (212)595-3456 [Application Pending City or town, state or province , country, and ZIP or foreign postal code I NEW YORK , NY 10023 I G Gross receipts $ 130,947,715 F Name and address of principal officer H(a) Is this a group return for JEFFREY DUNN subordinates? [ Yes 1900 Broadway No NEWYORK,NY 10023 H(b) Are all subordinates I Tax - exempt status Yes [ No 1 501(c)(3) F_ 501( c) ( ) 1 (insert no ) F_ 4947(a)(1) or F 527 included? If"No," attach a list (see instructions) 3 Website : www sesameworkshop org ► H(c) GrouD exemption number ► L Year of formation 1970 1 M State of legal domicile NY K Form of organization [ Corporation [ Trust [ Association [ Other ► © Summary 1Briefly describe the organization's mission or most significant activities our mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder w 2 Check this box ► [ if the organization discontinued its operations or disposed of more than 25% of its net assets ,6 3 Number of voting members of the governing body (Part VI, line 1a) . 3 15 4 Number of independent voting members of the governing body (Part VI, line 1b) . 4 14 S! 5 Total number of individuals employed in calendar year 2015 (Part V, line 2a) . 5 917 Q 6 Total number of volunteers (estimate if necessary) . 6 0 7a Total unrelated business revenue from Part VIII, column (C), line 12 . 7a 13,149 b Net unrelated business taxable income from Form 990-T, line 34 . 7b -23,772 Prior Year Current Year 8 Contributions and grants (Part VIII, line Ih) . 24,949,894 31,207,142 9 Program service revenue (Part VIII, line 2g) . 23,685,891 45,076,811 10 Investment income (Part VIII, column (A), lines 3, 4, and 7d ) . 5,092,314 3,406,444 11 Other revenue (Part VIII, column (A), lines 5, 6d, 8c, 9c, 10c, and l le) 41,214,172 40,368,765 12 Total revenue-add lines 8 through 11 (must equal Part VIII, column (A), line 94,942,271 120,059,162 12) 13 Grants and similar amounts paid (Part IX, column (A), lines 1-3 ) . 713,095 408,724 14 Benefits paid to or for members (Part IX, column (A ), line 4) . 0 0 Salaries, other compensation, employee benefits (Part IX, column (A ), lines 15 54 , 742 , 233 60 , 185 , 798 5-10) 16a Professional fundraising fees (Part IX, column (A), line 11e) . 78,613 143,945 b Total fundraising expenses (Part IX, column (D), line 25) 17 Other expenses (Part IX, column (A), lines 11a-11d, 1if-24e) . 41,184,825 48,823,372 18 Total expenses Add lines 13-17 (must equal Part IX, column (A), line 25) 96,718,766 109,561,839 19 Revenue less expenses Subtract line 18 from line 12 . -1,776,495 10,497,323 8 T Beginning of Current Year End of Year 20 Total assets (Part X, line 16) . 274,568,681 294,232,670 Q m 21 Total liabilities (Part X, line 26) . 53,906,079 70,577,472 Z1 22 Net assets or fund balances Subtract line 21 from line 20 . 220,662,602 223,655,198 VftfW Si g nature Block Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return, 1 my knowledge and belief, it is true, correct, and complete Declaration preparer has any knowledge Signature of officer Sign Here DARYL MINTZ EVP & CFO Type or print name and title Print/Type preparer's name Preparer's signature Scott thompsett Scott thompsett Paid Preparer Firm's name ► GRANT THORNTON LLP Firm's address 757 THIRD AVE 3RD FLOOR Use Only ► NEW YORK, NY 100172013 May the IRS discuss this return with the preparer shown above? (see in For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the separate instructions. Form 990 (2015) Page 2 Statement of Program Service Accomplishments Check if Schedule 0 contains a response or note to any line in this Part III 1 Briefly describe the organization's mission SESAME WORKSHOP'S MISSION IS TO HELP KIDS GROW SMARTER, STRONGER AND KINDER 2 Did the organization undertake any significant program services during the year which were not listed on the prior Form 990 or 990-EZ? . EYes [No If "Yes," describe these new services on Schedule 0 3 Did the organization cease conducting, or make significant changes in how it conducts, any program services? . Eyes [No If "Yes," describe these changes on Schedule 0 4 Describe the organization's program service accomplishments for each of its three largest program services, as measured by expenses Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations are required to report the amount of grants and allocations to others, the total expenses, and revenue, if any, for each program service reported 4a (Code ) (Expenses $ 64,660,899 including grants of $ 91,396 ) (Revenue $ 44,754,669 CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SESAME WORKSHOP CREATES EDUCATIONAL CONTENT FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND DISTRIBUTES THAT CONTENT IN THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD, ACROSS VARIOUS MEDIA PLATFORMS INCLUDING TELEVISION, RADIO, PRINT, ONLINE, DIGITAL AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT THE CONTENT FOLLOWS A WHOLE CHILD CURRICULUM AND IS DESIGNED TO GIVE VULNERBALE CHILDREN EQUAL AND EARLY ACCESS TO PRESCHOOL LEARNING SESAME WORKSHOP IS MOST WELL-KNOWN FOR ITS FLAGSHIP EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM SESAME STREET THE SHOW CURRENTLY BROADCASTS MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY ON THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE (PBS), WHICH IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE IN 98% OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH TELEVISIONS IN THE UNITED STATES IN ADDITION TO ITS PRESENCE ON PBS AND OTHER TELEVISION AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS, SESAME STREET VIDEOS, INTERACTIVE GAMES AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ARE AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE FOR USERS ON WWW SESAMESTREET ORG, WWW PBSKIDS ORG AND WWW YOUTUBE COM INCLUDING ITS DISTRIBUTION ON BROADCAST AND CABLE TV AND ITS PRESENCE ON VARIOUS DIGITAL PLATFORMS, SESAME STREET REACHES 5 6 MILLION KIDS AGES 2-5 ON A MONTHLY BASIS ITS CONTINUED POPULARITY PLACES IT AMONG THE TOP 5 KIDS PROGRAMS ON PBS TWO-THIRDS OF SESAME STREETS AUDIENCE FIRST DISCOVER ITS CONTENT, ON VARIOUS DIGITAL PLATFORMS SESAME WORKSHOPS FREE YOUTUBE CHANNEL RECEIVED OVER ONE BILLION VIEWS IN THE 2015 TAX YEAR ALONE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT CHILDREN WHO WATCH SESAME STREET CONSISTENTLY PERFORM BETTER ACADEMICALLY AT EVERY GRADE LEVEL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND HAVE MORE DEVELOPED SOCIAL SKILLS A RECENT SURVEY CONDUCTED BY SESAME WORKSHOP SUGGESTED THAT 89% OF MOMS AGREE THAT SESAME STREET CONTENT HELPS PREPARE THEIR CHILD FOR SCHOOL MORE THAN ANY PRESCHOOL SHOW IN THE 2015 TAX YEAR SESAME WORKSHOP LAUNCHED THE SESAME STUDIOS CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE SESAME STUDIOS IS A FREE PLATFORM DELIVERING ALL NEW, ORIGINAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT TARGETING KIDS AGES THREE TO FIVE SINCE LAUNCHING IN MAY 2016, THE CHANNEL HAS RECEIVED OVER 9 MILLION VIEWS SESAME WORKSHOP ALSO ENTERED INTO A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP WITH IBM (WATSON) TO DEVELOP AND BRING THE POWER OF ADAPTIVE LEARNING TO PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION SESAME WORKSHOP ENHANCES THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF SESAME STREET THROUGH THE DISTRIBUTION OF ITS CONTENT IN PRINT, LIVE SHOWS AND THEME PARKS THE US VERSION OF SESAME STREET, EITHER IN ENGLISH OR DUBBED INTO LOCAL LANGUAGES, IS SEEN IN OVER 100 COUNTRIES THROUGH DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS WITH LOCAL PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS IN ADDITION, LOCAL ADAPTATIONS OF SESAME STREET ARE PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED IN GERMANY, THE NETHERLANDS, LATIN AMERICA, THE GULF COOPERATION COUNTRIES (GCC), SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA, BANGLADESH, AND AFGHANISTAN THE PROGRAM REACHES 183 MILLION KIDS ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS 4b (Code ) ( Expenses $ 8,476,271 including grants of $ 0 ) (Revenue $ 0 ) US SOCIAL IMPACT SESAME WORKSHOP ENHANCES AND COMPLIMENTS THE DISTRIBUTION OF ITS WHOLE CHILD CURRICULUM CONTENT ACROSS MASS MEDIA PLATFORMS BY CREATING AND DISTRIBUTING MULTI-MEDIA EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES AND MATERIALS THAT ARE TARGETED TO SPECIFIC AUDIENCES OR THAT ADDRESS SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL NEEDS LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2015, "SESAME STREET AND AUTISM SEE AMAZING IN ALL CHILDREN" PROVIDES RESOURCES TO FAMILIES, TEACHERS AND CAREGIVERS AROUND THE COUNTRY TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT AUTISM, AND TOOLS TO HELP FAMILIES TOUCHED BY AUTISM WITH EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES SESAME WORKSHOP HAS WORKED WITH OVER 200 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO SHARE THESE FREE RESOURCES, AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO EDUCATORS IN CHILD CARE PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN NATIONWIDE THE WEBSITE THAT WAS CREATED SOLELY FOR THIS INITIATIVE HAD 68,000 VISITS ON THE DAY OF THE LAUNCH AND HAS HAD OVER 400,000 SITE USERS SINCE ITS INCEPTION ALSO SINCE ITS LAUNCH, THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 1 5 MILLION WEBSITE PAGE VIEWS, 27,000 APP DOWNLOADS AND 270,000 STORYBOOK VIEWS THERE WERE 1 4 MILLION VIEWS OF THE "SESAME STREET AND AUTISM" VIDEO ON YOU TUBE THE WORKSHOP CONTINUES FOR ITS 11TH STRAIGHT YEAR SUPPORTING AND CREATING RESOURCES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES SESAME WORKSHOP LAUNCHED "SESAME STREET FOR MILITARY FAMILIES TRANSITIONS", WHICH IS A RESEARCH-BASED, MULTIMEDIA INITIATIVE CREATED TO PROVIDE FREE