Montclair Film Festival Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271732322
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2010, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Montclair, NJ, USA
Phone
9737836433
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,478,650
Expenses
$5,604,162
Assets
$5,923,915
Liabilities
$1,397,441

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EVELYN MCGEE COLBERT (PRESIDENT)
  • MARY ANNE VAUGHN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TRICIA HAGGERTY WENZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • TOM HALL (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $138,989 total reported compensation
  • MEREDITH LADOV (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $107,602 total reported compensation
  • TRICIA HAGGERTY WENZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $55,472 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Montclair film connects global filmmakers with audiences in a diverse, culturally vibrant community by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, entertain, and educate through the power of visual storytelling.

What it reported doing in 2025

Exhibition: the organizations exhibition programs include its signatureannual film festival held in october, featuring 150+ film screenings, reaching typically 25,000+ patrons over 10 days. In addition, theorganization leases and operates the clairidge, a six screen movietheater with over 590 seats and the bellevue with three screens and 330 seats. Both theaters present new theatricial releases, independent, non-fiction, studio, and classic films to our community 365 days a year. Montclair film also operates a 65-seat theater called cinema505, which hosts performances, conversations, television tapings, screenings, classes, and more. Cinema505 is located in the home and headquarters for the organization.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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; 63rd 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: 13.5%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 25 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $523K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.