Salty Earth Pictures Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043728402
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Lake Mills, WI, USA
Phone
4145877615
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$214,992
Expenses
$302,794
Assets
$443,840
Liabilities
$344,434

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH ZAMBO (DIRVICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN F ZAMBO (DIRCEOPRESIDENT): $78,960 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA M ZAMBO (DIRECTOR): $49,403 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 organization creates and distributes christian, family-oriented multimedia content designed to share the message of the gospel, promote biblical values, and provide uplifting, faith-based entertainment and education to individuals and families.

What it reported doing in 2025

2025 program service accomplishments: film exhibition and distribution: conducted 42 screenings of the feature film one by one across the united states, reaching over 3,000 attendees and advancing the organizations mission through faith-based storytelling and community engagement. Youth education and media training: conducted 22 studio tours and movie in a day experiences, serving approximately 600 students. These programs provided hands-on education in filmmaking while integrating christian values and creative storytelling. Film premieres and public screenings: hosted a premiere performance of a life of music the daniel truhitte story and launched run for glory the don beebe story, with a combined attendance of 242 individuals. Additionally, conducted a public screening of a life of music the daniel truhitte story in concord, North Carolina, with approximately 400 attendees. Feature film development: completed the screenplay for run for glory the don beebe story and initiated pre-production planning, supporting the creation of future faith-based film content. Film festival programming: hosted an online film festival receiving over 120 entries, supporting independent filmmakers and promoting values-driven storytelling. Ongoing content development: engaged in continued development and planning of media projects to further the organizations mission through film, education, and outreach. Ongoing film distribution: continued to distribute dvds of previously produced films including one by one, stand in the gap, the open door, the return, the author, the star & the keeper, and others, extending the organizations faith-based impact.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -40.8%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 42.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $247K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $79K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.