Cinequest Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770250734
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4089956305
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,238,754
Expenses
$2,034,537
Assets
$485,361
Liabilities
$70,642

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kathleen Powell (President/Co-Founder)
  • Halfdan Hussey (CEO/Co-Founder)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kathleen Powell (President/Co-Founder): $144,000 total reported compensation
  • Halfdan Hussey (CEO/Co-Founder): $102,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Cinequest fuses innovation with the arts to empower creators, youth, and audiences through film, creativity, and technologyconnecting people, stories, and ideas to inspire and transform lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is Cinequest's flagship program, uniting artists, innovators, and audiences through film, storytelling, and technology. The 2024 festival presented over 250 films from 50 countries and hosted more than 30,000 in-person attendees in downtown San Jose, plus tens of thousands more online via CINEJOY. The event featured world and U.S. premieres, forums, and celebrations connecting creators and audiences with new ideas and technologies.Cinequest's programs directly supported hundreds of filmmakers and writers by providing exhibition, promotion, and networking opportunities that resulted in distribution deals and industry recognition. The festival also boosted the local economy by generating more than $9 million in revenue for downtown San Jose's restaurants, hotels, and businesses.Through the combination of film, creativity, and innovation, Cinequest's annual festival continues to inspire audiences and empower artistsadvancing its charitable mission to connect people and transform lives through the arts.The CINEJOY Virtual Festival, created by Cinequest during the pandemic, continues to expand global access to art, storytelling, and innovation. In 2024, CINEJOY presented more than 150 films and interactive events to viewers in over 60 countries, providing a premium online venue for independent filmmakers and audiences who cannot attend in person. The platform showcases films, VR experiences, and live conversations with creators using cutting-edge digital tools to connect communities worldwide.CINEJOY has become a vital part of Cinequest's mission to make "Creativity for All" a realityempowering diverse voices, expanding audience reach, and fostering inclusive access to the arts through technology.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -64.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $144K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.