Women in Film & Video Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521175294
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024299438
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,822,926
Expenses
$1,672,803
Assets
$871,252
Liabilities
$3,275

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Melissa Houghton (Executive Director)
  • Connie St John (President)
  • Candice Bloch (Executive Vice President)
  • Sara Barger (Immediate President/Advisory Committee Liaison)

Highest reported compensation

  • Melissa Houghton (Executive Director): $99,596 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Women in Film & Video (WIFV) provides professional development and networking opportunities for screen-based media makers, celebrates women's creative and technical achievements in media, and advocates for parity both in front of and behind the camera to ensure that all voices can be heard. All genres, genders, and experience levels welcome. A 501(c)(3) non-profit community benefit organization founded in 1979, WIFV is the premier professional resource for people who want successful media careers in the DC-metro region. Our resources, connections and advocacy support a vibrant, creative media community. The organization provides more than 200 career-building workshops per year.

What it reported doing in 2024

Women in Film & Video (WIFV) provided more than 200 programs during the 2024-25 program year to satisfy the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT and GENERAL EDUCATION needs of its members and public attendees. Most members attend multiple events per program year. All WIFV programs are open to the general public and we had more than 4000 registrations for the the Wednesday Ones, Roundtables, master classes, special interest workshops, and ScriptDC. The meetings present industry leaders who share their insights and provide attendees with info to hone their skills to become better freelancers, employers, and employees. Professional development programs were hosted primarily online from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. We found a broader geographic representation since attendees didn't have to deal with commuting. WIFV nominates films annually for inclusion into the National Film Registry. WIFV continues its fiscal sponsorship program to support women-created media and added new projects to that program. Fiscally-sponsored projects received funds from a variety of individuals, foundations, and government entities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% 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.
  • 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $322.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 8.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.3% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.