First Look Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800951255
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Los Gatos, CA, USA
Phone
9174776500
Rating
43
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,546,937
Expenses
$720,550
Assets
$1,787,735
Liabilities
$3,333,778

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Bloom (Director/President/CEO)

People named in this filing

  • Jeffrey Alvord (Director/Chair)
  • Patricia L Christen (Director)
  • Michael Bloom (Director/President/CEO)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

First Look Institute supports fearless investigative journalism, innovative and cinematic nonfiction filmmaking, and press freedom initiatives to protect the right to a free and open society and press.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Press Freedom Defense Fund, in partnership with the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, gives direct financial support to news organizations, reporters, and whistleblowers to pay for legal expenses, along with providing technical assistance and professional guidance, so information that is critical to our democracy can be brought to light without fear of retribution. Through grants (often paid directly to expert legal counsel who agree to provide representation at reduced/capped fees) and educational outreach to support established and non-traditional journalists and news organizations, the Fund opposes official actions that restrict press freedoms and seek source information or journalistic materials. It is one of the few programs that supports whistleblowers and other journalistic sources

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 55
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 53.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.48; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.86; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $118K reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.