Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Legal name: Filmmakers Collaborative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943059140
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
415.546.0155
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,246,842
Expenses
$1,020,040
Assets
$578,181
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE LADD (Vice President)
  • JENNIFER CHIEN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • HOWARD KEVIN WHITE (Executive Dir.): $38,888 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Filmmakers Collaborative SF is a nonprofit media organization with a mission to catalyze positive change through the power of filmmaking.

What it reported doing in 2025

The For Us, By Us incubator program is a six-month intensive program to support a diverse cohort of five local documentary filmmakers who are making films of five personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 56
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $338.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 55.6%; rating input score 56; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 64.4% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $803K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $39K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.