The Grateful Film Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
920785739
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Studio City, CA, USA
Phone
2135908900
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$484,390
Expenses
$455,749
Assets
$22,605
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROB HOLLMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • ROB HOLLMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BRAD SCHLEI (SECRETARY)
  • ROB LEVINE (TREASURER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The fund's mission is to help create, support, and promote thought-provoking and aesthetically superior media projects that inspire positive action and change by presenting real-world solutions to complex issues and ideas.

What it reported doing in 2024

The grateful film fund works to support film projects that fall within its mission to inspire positive change but that may have trouble gathering funding from other sources. Each project is completed under the umbrella of the fund's fiscal sponsorship program, ensuring that all projects support the fund's charitable and educational mission. In 2023, the fund sponsored the following documentary projects: who are the marcuses?: the year's "great documentary" (film threat) uncovers a mysterious long island couple whose half a billion-dollar gift inspires peace and climate action through water tech. Featuring warren buffett, ellen marcus, israel president isaac herzog, seth m. Siegel, e. Randol schoenberg, daniel gordis, and micah goodman.vanish mode: a documentary about the present day drug epidemic imperiling the lives of america's youth. A family seeks answers and healing after the untimely death of their son while a rolling stone magazine journalist investigates the link between the social media giant snapchat and rampant fentanyl poisoning.israel: a concise history of a nation reborn.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.5%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 98.2%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.05; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 68.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 72.4% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.5% of revenue deployed · 98.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $448K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.