Hartley Film Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 060950982
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2016
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2016
- Location
- Westport, CT, USA
- Phone
- 2032269500
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religious Film, Video
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,006,435
- Expenses
- $1,815,383
- Assets
- $2,635,668
- Liabilities
- $100,918
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- C KEITH HARTLEY (PRESIDENT/TREASURER)
- DAVID HARTLEY (VICE PRESIDENT/MARKETING)
- DONN HARTLEY (SECRETARY/VICE PRESIDENT)
- NANI TIBI (VICE PRESIDENT/PRODUCTION)
- PETER LEDERMANN (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ALISON VAN DYK (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SARAH MASTERS (MANAGING DIRECTOR/BOARD MEMBER): $124,752 total reported compensation
- C KEITH HARTLEY (PRESIDENT/TREASURER): $57,437 total reported compensation
- DAVID HARTLEY (VICE PRESIDENT/MARKETING): $44,907 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Cultivation and support film documentaries that focus on world religions and spirituality through seed grants and fiscal sponsorship.
What it reported doing in 2016
To educate the public and advance the understanding of the religions of the world by supporting production of films and related materials on philosophical, psychological and spiritual man.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $32.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.1%; rating input score 99; 34th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 9.5%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.45; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 18 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.