American Film Institute

Legal name: The American Film Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
526072925
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
323.856.7600
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,176,502
Expenses
$38,741,050
Assets
$64,586,565
Liabilities
$6,977,125

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

Leadership & pay

66 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT GAZZALE (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT GAZZALE (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,032,227 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN RUSKIN (EX. VP & DEAN OF CONSERVATORY): $514,382 total reported compensation
  • LANG FREDRICKSON (CFO): $418,803 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 American Film Institute is dedicated to celebrating excellence in the art form and to creating national education initiatives that inspire artists and audiences alike.

What it reported doing in 2024

Preservation and documentation:-afi collection: this vital and indispensable part of the library of congress archive continues to acquire and preserve films as part of its ongoing mission to maintain america's film heritage. The collection includes over 37,000 titles, consisting primarily of theatrical features and shorts, as well as substantial numbers of newsreels, documentaries and television programs.-afi catalog: this definitive online database sets the standard as the source for accurate information on the entire history of american film. It has been called "the authoritative oxford english dictionary of american film."

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 98.1%; rating input score 98; 31st 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: 3.6%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.9% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 53 of 54 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $31.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 66 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.