Cleveland Film Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341262368
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
2166233456
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,023,208
Expenses
$2,724,189
Assets
$1,136,937
Liabilities
$357,337

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOE MARINUCCI (PRESIDENT)
  • HERMIONE MALONE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MARCIE GOODMAN (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARCIE GOODMAN (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $197,048 total reported compensation
  • HERMIONE MALONE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $174,421 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The cleveland film society is a nonprofit corporation organized to promote artistically and culturally significant film arts through education and exhibition to enrich the life of the cleveland, Ohio community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The 49th cleveland international film festival (ciff49) was presented in hybrid form of being in-person and online. The festival took place march 27-april 5, 2025 in person at playhouse square and then from april 6-13, 2025 online. The festival showcased 104 feature films and 198 short films, representing 60 countries. The festival welcomed 60,620 film enthusiasts in person and virtually, and hosted 340 filmmakers from around the world. Included were 3,239 students from 74 schools in northeast Ohio who took part in filmslam, the festival's oldest educational program for those in grades 5-12.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.9%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Pass
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -34.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.9% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 33 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.