Foundation for Creative Expression

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
743198671
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2022
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
8316016576
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$299,058
Expenses
$285,094
Assets
$542,436
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ESTELLE CIMINO (President)
  • JERRY CIMINO (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • ESTELLE CIMINO (President)
  • JERRY CIMINO (Vice President)
  • BRIAN GEORGE (Director)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to promote a deeper understanding of countercultural movementsfrom the beat generation, hippies, the civil rights movement, womens liberation, lgbtq+ rights, and beyond. As a dynamic space for learning, engagement, and inspiration, the counterculture museum explores the history, challenges, and lasting impact of these movements.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the foundation for creative expression developed and opened the counterculture museum, a new cultural and educational museum in san francisco dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history, ideas, art, music and social movements of the counterculture and their continuing relevance today. After several months of developing the museum space, creating and installing exhibits, preparing artwork and historical materials, and completing extensive improvements to the facility, the museum opened to the public on may 29, 2025.following its opening, the museum welcomed a growing number of visitors and gained significant local and national media attention, expanding public awareness of both the museum and its educational mission. The museum also developed an active schedule of public programming, including live music, author and artist talks, book signings, discussions and other cultural events that brought visitors together to explore counterculture history and its influence on contemporary society.

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

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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.9; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.1% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $278K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.