Moving Picture Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203237801
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6469260674
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,056,528
Expenses
$5,323,770
Assets
$7,477,488
Liabilities
$271,400

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROB PFALTZGRAFF (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROB PFALTZGRAFF (PRESIDENT): $526,707 total reported compensation
  • NICK REID (EXECUTIVE VP/TREASURER): $406,475 total reported compensation
  • LANA LINK (SENIOR VP/SECRETARY): $316,495 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The moving picture institute is a nonprofit production company and talent incubator that creates high-impact films designed to entertain, inspire, and educate audiences with captivating stories about human freedom.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mpi productions: mpi original films use the popular and accessible medium of visual storytelling to educate people about what freedom is and why it matters. We reach hundreds of millions by distributing our films to theaters and digital streaming platforms such as netflix, apple tv, amazon prime video, starz, hulu, google play, tubi, and bet+. Mpi's nonpartisan approach attracts the attention of prominent media outlets, and our films and filmmakers win major awards and screen at top-tier film festivals such as the tribeca film festival and south by southwest. Mpi's in-house production team continually works to develop mpi's slate of films-securing intellectual property from books and articles, acquiring life story rights to adapt into screenplays, and hiring writers to develop original screenplays. These projects are then produced by mpi for wide distribution with two goals in mind-to change minds and inspire action. The 2024 mpi original motherland, which will be released in 2025 is a case study for how our integrated programs work. The film was written by an mpi filmmaker, directed by another filmmaker from our network, and allowed for our filmmakers to work on set in a variety of capacities from production assistant to director's shadow. Motherland premiered at the omaha film festival and continues its festival run where it is earning accolades like best actress at the Vermont film and folklore festival. Mpi secured distribution with vertical, and a limited theatrical release followed by availability on streaming platforms is scheduled for september 2025. Mpi also provides other nonprofit organizations complimentary access to its film library and encourages them to use their films as a tool to educate their local communities about issues related to human freedom and inspire them to take action. Mpi's current production slate includes eighteen active film projects.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.5%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $37.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st 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: 33.9%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.5% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $527K · 14 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $784K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.