National Film Preservation Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522055624
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4153927291
Rating
92
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,400,492
Expenses
$1,378,782
Assets
$3,439,067
Liabilities
$951,063

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Jeffery Lambert (Sec/Treas/Dir.): $113,568 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The NFPF is a nonprofit organization established in the District of Columbia resulting from an Act of Congress in order to preserve and make publicly accessible our nations film heritage. The NFPF works with archives to preserve American films and improve access for education and exhibition.

What it reported doing in 2025

Preserving American films through grants. Saved 81 titles through grants to 31 institutions. Films slated for preservation include The Tombs (1973), Phil Parmets unflinching documentary; Highlanders Wedding (1961), a reenactment of a traditional Polish Highlanders celebration; instructional films by Dr. Rutherford B. H. Gradwohl, the founder of modern forensic science; sponsored film, Invitation to Ohio (1964); Two Women (1977), LA Rebellion filmmaker Carrol Parrott Bluess first film; Weak But Willing (1929), a comedy short featuring Jean Harlow; Making is Choosing: A Fragment of Life: A Broken Line: A Series of Observations (1989), by Chicano filmmaker Willie Varela; and titles by experimental filmmakers Kathleen Laughlin, Heather McAdams, and Michael Mideke.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 73% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $131.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 53rd 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 1.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.49; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 93.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 32 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.