Newfilmmakers Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264286940
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3235217385
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,351,808
Expenses
$1,025,560
Assets
$2,477,305
Liabilities
$473,795

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LARRY LABOE (EXECUTIVE DIREC): $179,596 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Works by emerging filmmkaers from around the world, providing the losangeles community of entertainment professionals and film goers with aconstant surge of monthly screening events. Nfmla provides a forumwhere filmmakers can be recognized for their contributions, have anopen audience discussions about their projects and connect withindustry professionals for insight on distribution, production, acquisition and representation.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) continued its mission of championing emerging storytellers by supporting over 200 filmmakers representing more than 30 countries. Through its public exhibition programs, NFMLA connected filmmakers with valuable industry resources and professional development opportunities, helping bridge new creative voices with the broader entertainment community. NFMLAs year-round film festival programming remained a vibrant cultural gathering in Los Angeles, showcasing innovative independent films while fostering meaningful conversations between audiences and the artists, producers, and creative professionals behind the work. These events provided filmmakers with opportunities to present their projects, engage directly with audiences, and build relationships with industry leaders. Beyond screenings, NFMLA expanded its impact through initiatives designed to support the next generation of storytellers. The organization awarded financial grants to emerging filmmakers developing new work, continued its STARZ #TakeTheLead TV Writers Intensive to help writers advance their careers in television, and invested in youth and education by serving more than 190 Los Angeles County high school students and providing educational programming for over 450 college students across the region. NFMLA also extended its reach beyond Los Angeles, participating in industry programming and partnerships in MinneapolisSaint Paul, Mar del Plata (Argentina), and at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, among other locations. Through these efforts, NFMLA strengthened its role as a bridge between Los Angeles entertainment ecosystem and the global filmmaking community, creating opportunities for emerging filmmakers to develop their craft, build professional networks, and bring new stories to audiences.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.2%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.42; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.2% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $849K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.