The CineStory Foundation

What it reported doing in 2025

CineStory List of Accomplishments, Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2026: CINESTORY held its Feature Retreat from October 3 7, 2025 in Idyllwild, CA, with 41 participating screenwriters, 11 staff members, 7 interns, and 46 mentors. The mentors all are working entertainment industry professionals. CineStory did three one-hour, pre-retreat online orientations, one for screenwriters, one for staff, and one for mentors. During the four-day retreat, CineStory provided snacks, a light breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for everyone. There were 15 mentor-led educational sessions spread out over the four and one-half day retreat, including panel discussions and group writing exercises on topics like screenplay structure, the ins and out of working as a professional screenwriter, how to work with producers, agents, and managers, how to write visually, and how to craft a pitch that will sell a screenplay. The participating screenwriters also each met with three different mentors in one-on-one notes sessions for feedback on projects mentors had read in advance. Notes sessions were each one and one-half hours long. In addition, there were numerous social gatherings for writers and mentors to get to know each other.CineStory held its TV Retreat on May 1 5, 2026 in Idyllwild, CA, with 42 participating writers, 11 staff members, 7 interns, and 50 mentors. The mentors all are working entertainment industry professionals. CineStory did three one-hour, pre-retreat orientations online, one for screenwriters, one for staff, and one for mentors. During the four and one-half day retreat, CineStory provided snacks, a light breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for everyone. There were 15 mentor-led educational sessions spread out over the retreat, including topics and writing exercises like teleplay structure, the ins and out of working as a professional TV writer, how to work with producers, agents, and managers, how to write visually, and how to craft a pitch that will sell a teleplay, as well as mock TV writing rooms, one drama room and one comedy room, each led by showrunner mentors. In addition, the writers each met with three different mentors in one-on-one notes sessions for feedback on projects mentors had read in advance. Notes sessions were each one and one-half hours long. In addition, there were daily social gatherings for writers and mentors. In addition, there were numerous social gatherings for writers and mentors to get to know each other.Cinestory also held its second Residency, which was a week-long event from June 12 19, 2026 in Idyllwild, CA, with 11 residents and 8 staff members. The residency focused on generative writing and community building and included housing, all meals, plus places to write, meet in small groups, and socialize as a community. In addition to having plenty of unstructured writing time, residents met daily in small groups led by CineStory staffers to do writing exercises and story breaking sessions aimed at helping residents develop the project they brought to work on. There were also places to take short, unscheduled breaks throughout the day for those who need a quick breather before diving back into their work. Finally, residents and staffers gathered for meals, games, and socializing.More information on CineStorys activities and accomplishments at https://cinestory.org/news/

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 52.3%; rating input score 52
• Program expense ratio: 52.6%; rating input score 53
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 0.7%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 31.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings