Filmscene

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454103745
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone
3193582555
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,872,203
Expenses
$2,076,442
Assets
$3,494,371
Liabilities
$2,235,495

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW SHERBURNE (EXECUTIVE DI): $72,503 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Filmscene's mission is to challenge, inspire, educate, and entertain our communities through the shared discovery of film. Filmscene is Iowa city's nonprofit cinema, working in partnership with the bijou film board, a university of Iowa student organization, to present films at two locations on five permanent screens and a seasonal outdoor cinema. From our home in downtown Iowa city, we enrich the cultural vitality of the surrounding area through community-supported programming that showcases exceptional american and international filmmaking in a vibrant, accessible, and welcoming space.

What it reported doing in 2024

Filmscene serves the eastern Iowa region through full-time, community- supported cinema in downtown Iowa city. Filmscene annually presents over 450 unique new release and repertory films, with broad representation of genres, filmmakers, and distributors within the international film ecosystem. In addition, filmscene serves as a community hub for film education, community dialogues, and filmmaker support often in partnership with other nonprofits and community groups. Filmscene is committed to enriching the cultural vitality of the area through community-supported programming that showcases exceptional american and international filmmaking in a vibrant, accessible, and welcoming space.

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 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.