Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$19,150,546

Total expenses

$18,866,656

Contributions and grants received

$11,200,064

Grants paid

$712,957

Program service revenue

$7,594,062

Investment income

$105,320

Other revenue

$251,100

Total assets, end of year

$9,397,936

Total liabilities, end of year

$3,380,957

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$6,016,979

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$16,286,236

Management and general expenses

$1,381,269

Fundraising expenses

$1,199,151

Program service expenses (Part III)

$16,286,236

Program services were 86.3% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2024

• ARTIST DEVELOPMENTFILM INDEPENDENT'S ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ARE INCUBATORS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF BOLD, ORIGINAL VISUAL STORYTELLERS WORKING IN FILM AND TELEVISION, FICTION AND NON-FICTION. AMONG THE PROGRAMS WE OFFER:-PROJECT INVOLVE IS A HANDS-ON PROGRAM THAT HAS SUPPORTED OVER 1,000 FILMMAKERS OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS, THROUGH MENTORSHIP, MASTERCLASSES AND SHORT FILM PRODUCTION. AT LEAST 31 FILMMAKERS PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM IN FY25.-THE FILMMAKER LABS PRODUCING, SCREENWRITING, EPISODIC, DOCUMENTARY PROVIDE MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING ON THE BUSINESS OF FILMMAKING, AS WELL AS ROBUST FEEDBACK ON FILMMAKERS' CURRENT PROJECTS.-FAST TRACK IS A HIGHLY CURATED FILM FINANCE MARKET, DESIGNED TO HELP PRODUCER-DIRECTOR TEAMS ADVANCE THEIR PROJECTS. FILM INDEPENDENT FACILITATES UP TO 60 MEETINGS FOR FELLOWS WITH TOP EXECUTIVES, FINANCIERS, PACKAGING AGENTS, DISTRIBUTORS, PRODUCTION COMPANIES AND OTHERS. -FISCAL SPONSORSHIP ALLOWS PARTICIPANTS TO UTILIZE THE NON-PROFIT STATUS OF FILM INDEPENDENT TO ACCESS GRANTS FROM FOUNDATIONS, INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS AND GOVERNMENT FUNDING. IT SUPPORTS FULLY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS THAT REFLECT FILM INDEPENDENT'S MISSION TO FOSTER UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES AND A DIVERSITY OF CONTENT AND CREATORS. AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, EVERY APPLICANT MUST DEMONSTRATE HOW THEIR PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE MISSION, WHICH IS CONSIDERED IN EVALUATING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM. AT THE END OF FY25, FISCAL SPONSORSHIP HAD APPROXIMATELY 595 ACTIVE PROJECTS, WITH 231 OF THOSE JOINING THE PROGRAM BETWEEN OCTOBER 1, 2024 AND SEPTEMBER 30, 2025.

  Expenses $8,676,439 · Grants $610,800 · Revenue $1,666,775

• MEMBERSHIP, PROGRAMMING AND EDUCATION SERVICES FILM INDEPENDENT IS AN OPEN-ACCESS MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION WITH 8,290 MEMBERS IN FY25, FROM 50 STATES AND 71 COUNTRIES. TO OUR MEMBERS WE OFFER ROBUST EDUCATIONAL AND FILM PROGRAMMING.-FILM INDEPENDENT PRESENTS SCREENING SERIES (92 UNIQUE EVENTS, AUDIENCE OF 27,499)-THE DIRECTORS CLOSE-UP CONVERSATIONS ON THE ART OF DIRECTING WITH THE YEAR'S TOP FILMMAKERS (ONLINE)-FILM INDEPENDENT FORUM (CONFERENCE FOR WORKING INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS ON THE BUSINESS OF FILMMAKING (IN PERSON) -GLOBAL MEDIA MAKERS FOCUSES ON THE BUSINESS AND COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, CONNECTING MID-CAREER INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS WITH LEADING U.S. PROFESSIONALS AND SHOWCASING U.S. INNOVATION, STORYTELLING, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL PRACTICES.-THE CINEBRIDGE FELLOWSHIP IS AN INITIATIVE DESIGNED FOR MID-CAREER INTERNATIONAL WRITER-DIRECTORS WHO ARE CREATING GENRE FILMS THAT CAN TRANSCEND BORDERS WITH BROAD GLOBAL APPEAL.-RED SEA FEATURE FILM PROJECT, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RED SEA FOUNDATION, FILM INDEPENDENT DESIGNS AND DELIVERS AN INTENSIVE, MULTI-PHASE RESIDENCY PROGRAM FEATURING THREE IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS AND SEVERAL VIRTUAL SESSIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS FROM AFRICA AND ASIA.-YEAR-ROUND WORKSHOPS ON SPECIFIC TOPICS OF INTEREST TO FILMMAKERS AND FILM LOVERS (IN PERSON AND ONLINE)

  Expenses $4,127,942 · Grants $27,157 · Revenue $2,941,004

• 2025 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDSTHE PREMIERE AWARDS SHOW CELEBRATING THE BEST OF INDEPENDENT FILM AND TELEVISION, THE FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS SHINES A LIGHT ON FILMMAKERS WHOSE WORK EMBODIES UNIQUENESS OF VISION, ORIGINAL, PROVOCATIVE SUBJECT MATTER, DIVERSITY, AND ECONOMY OF MEANS. FOR OVER 40 YEARS THIS SHOW HAS DONE MORE THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE EVENT TO PUT INDEPENDENT FILM ON THE CULTURAL MAP AND IN THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS. THE SPIRIT AWARDS EXEMPLIFIES THE WORK OF TALENTED EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED TALENT, AND CELEBRATES THE BEST OF FICTION AND NON-FICTION WORK IN BOTH FILM AND TELEVISION. -ONLINE SCREENING OF NOMINATED FILMS AND SHOWS FOR MEMBERS (@ 65 TITLES) -VOTING MEMBERS OF FILM INDEPENDENT: 8,580 -IN-PERSON AWARD SHOW: 1,200 ATTENDEES

  Expenses $3,481,855 · Grants $75,000 · Revenue $2,986,283

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

• ARTEFACTO CINEMA INC

  $50,000

  IMAGINAR PRODUCERS RESIDENCY

• ONE RISING LLC

  $50,000

  SLOAN DISTRIBUTION GRANT (HUMANS IN THE LOOP)

• JM HARPER MEDIA LLC

  $30,000

  AMPLIFIER FELLOWSHIP

• PROTOSTELLAR MEDIA LLC

  $30,000

  SLOAN PRODUCING GRANT

• BEHOLDEN FLILMS LLC

  $30,000

  AMPLIFIER FELLOWSHIP

• NETTLES AND DIRT ROADS INC

  $30,000

  AMPLIFIER FELLOWSHIP

• ORQUIDEA LLC

  $10,000

  CAYTON-GOLDRICH FAMILY FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP

• THIRD COUSIN PICTURES INC

  $10,000

  MPAC FELLOWSHIP

Taxable family on this return

Schedule R Parts I, III and IV, as filed. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money moved.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

17 August 2026

IRS schema version

2024v5.5

Source object

202612309349301736

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.