Palm Springs International Film Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951641910
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Palm Springs, CA, USA
Phone
7603222930
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fairs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,737,071
Expenses
$4,329,122
Assets
$9,129,656
Liabilities
$513,075

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

Leadership & pay

37 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AFTAB DADA (Vice President)
  • CATHERINE REED (Vice President)
  • SCOTT WHITE (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • DAVID BARON (Treasurer)
  • STEPHEN BREIMER (Director)
  • JAMES BRUNER (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To promote film festivals and related activities in the city of palm springs and surrounding areas, and to provide a wide variety of film experiences and educational programs to the people of the coachella valley and its visitors.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provide educational and cultural presentations to members of the community and the exhibition of new artistic works by independent non-commercial new film makers.

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.

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: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.5%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.11; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 37 of 37 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 37 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.