Form 990 for tax year 2024
Filed by INFORMED CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION.
Totals
- Total revenue
- $254,981
- Total expenses
- $195,651
- Contributions and grants received
- $252,246
- Grants paid
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $0
- Investment income
- $0
- Other revenue
- $2,735
- Total assets, end of year
- $124,678
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $54,977
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- $69,701
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $170,676
- Management and general expenses
- $17,825
- Fundraising expenses
- $7,150
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $170,676
Program services were 87.2% 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.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$252,246
-
3 · Investment income
total $0
-
4 · Income from investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds
total $0
-
5 · Royalties
total $0
-
6d · Net rental income or loss
total $0
-
7d · Net gain or loss
total $0
-
8c · Net income from fundraising events
total $0
-
9c · Net income from gaming
total $0
-
10c · Net income from sales of inventory
total $0
-
11a · Other revenue: Return of Funds
total $1,985 · related or exempt $1,985
-
11b · Other revenue: Sale of Product
total $750 · related or exempt $750
-
11e · Other revenue, total
$2,735
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments
total $0
-
2 · Grants to domestic individuals
total $0
-
3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals
total $0
-
4 · Benefits paid to or for members
total $0
-
5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
total $900 · program services $900
-
6 · Compensation of disqualified persons
total $0
-
7 · Other salaries and wages
total $92,050 · program services $92,050
-
8 · Pension plan contributions
total $0
-
9 · Other employee benefits
total $24,585 · program services $24,564 · management and general $21
-
10 · Payroll taxes
total $7,086 · program services $7,086
-
11a · Fees: management
total $0
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $2,939 · program services $2,939
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $1,035 · program services $900 · management and general $135
-
11d · Fees: lobbying
total $0
-
11e · Fees: professional fundraising services
total $0
-
11f · Fees: investment management
total $0
-
11g · Fees: other
total $3,288 · program services $3,184 · management and general $104
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $10,358 · program services $3,617 · fundraising $6,741
-
13 · Office expenses
total $16,394 · program services $15,940 · management and general $45 · fundraising $409
-
14 · Information technology
total $0
-
15 · Royalties
total $0
-
16 · Occupancy
total $5,123 · program services $553 · management and general $4,570
-
17 · Travel
total $7,909 · program services $7,909
-
18 · Travel or entertainment for public officials
total $0
-
19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings
total $0
-
20 · Interest
total $56 · program services $60 · management and general -$4
-
21 · Payments to affiliates
total $0
-
22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization
total $0
-
23 · Insurance
total $12,862 · program services $181 · management and general $12,681
-
24a · Other expenses: Job Supplies
total $2,895 · program services $2,895
-
24b · Other expenses: Dues & Subscriptions
total $2,073 · program services $1,922 · management and general $151
-
24c · Other expenses: Misc Expenses
total $1,692 · program services $1,692
-
24d · Other expenses: Meals & Entertainment
total $1,252 · program services $1,252
-
24e · All other expenses
total $3,154 · program services $3,032 · management and general $122
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $35,704 · end of year $112,151
-
2 · Savings and temporary cash investments
end of year $0
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
end of year $0
-
4 · Accounts receivable
end of year $0
-
5 · Loans and receivables from officers and key people
end of year $0
-
6 · Loans and receivables from disqualified persons
end of year $0
-
7 · Other notes and loans receivable
end of year $0
-
8 · Inventories for sale or use
end of year $4,298
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
end of year $0
-
10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis
$8,166
-
10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net
beginning of year $3,268 · end of year $8,166
-
11 · Investments: publicly traded securities
end of year $0
-
12 · Investments: other securities
end of year $0
-
13 · Investments: program-related
end of year $0
-
14 · Intangible assets
end of year $0
-
15 · Other assets
beginning of year $63 · end of year $63
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $29,124 · end of year $54,977
-
31 · Retained earnings, endowment or other funds
beginning of year $9,911 · end of year $69,701
Mission and programs · 2024
Mission
Informed California Foundations primary activity is original public service news reporting, initially in Vallejo and then in other locations in California. This explanatory and investigative reporting illuminates local and state institutions, public and private individuals holding disproportionate power, and underreported themes such as civil rights and municipal corruption. The organization features deeply researched reporting and expert analysis to ensure the public, policymakers, enforcement bodies, and other stakeholders have access to comprehensive and contextualized information on topics of relevance to the community. Informed Californias news content and method of producing the content is educational in nature, and consistent with tax requirements. The purpose of the reporting is to provide readers with sufficient information and development to aid a reader in forming an independent opinion about issues of relevance and importance in the local community. This reporting and exper
Activities or mission (Part I)
Informed California Foundations primary activity is original public service news reporting, initially in Vallejo and then in other locations in California.
-
Investigative Reporting in the public interest: Open Vallejo published groundbreaking, original stories in 2024 that have generated major impact in Vallejo and in Solano County as a whole, earning our website approximately 49,576 unique views per month.In 2024, Open Vallejo produced several investigative reports highlighting critical issues within the city. In June 2024, Open Vallejo published The Secret Death of Darryl Dean Mefferd, an investigative report that revealed both the fact and circumstances surrounding Mefferds 2016 death in Vallejo police custody. The article revealed that officials classified Mefferds death as an accidental drug overdose, despite evidence that it was a homicide, allowing them to keep it hidden from public scrutiny for years. Through extensive research and expert interviews, the report challenged the official narrative and highlighted systemic issues within local law enforcement agencies.Another significant published in 2024, As Vallejo police force shrinks, 911 response times soar, focused on the Vallejo Police Departments shrinking workforce and its impact on emergency response times. The investigation revealed that as the number of sworn officers decreased, 911 response times increased dramatically, leaving residents vulnerable during emergencies. Factors contributing to the staffing shortage included publicized scandals, leadership changes, and challenges in implementing reforms. The report underscored the urgent need for strategic solutions to bolster the police force and ensure public safety. In April of 2024, Open Vallejo published Vallejo officers intervene after detective stopped by Cotati police, which revealed how a detective with a prior DUI conviction was contacted by police in a city 45 minutes away, then received a courtesy ride home from colleagues. The following month, this newsroom demonstrated how the lack of accountability was part of a pattern in Vallejo when it published, SWAT officer among Vallejo police with DUI conviction. This investigation revealed that an officer who was actively on criminal probation for a recent DUI conviction was also on the departments SWAT team, and that at least four other current and former police employees had also been convicted of DUIs in the past decade.Also in 2024, Open Vallejos ongoing investigative reporting provided the factual basis for a complaint, filed by a third party, that asked the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to decertify nine current and former Vallejo officers. The state agency subsequently pledged to investigate the allegations in the complaint at a public meeting. In February 2024 Open Vallejo published, Vallejo seeks to keep evidence destruction probe secret. This investigation uncovered the citys efforts to keep an investigation into the illegal destruction of evidence in multiple police shootings confidential. Assistant City Attorney Katelyn Knight, who had authorized the evidence purge, cited attorney-client privilege and confidentiality laws to withhold the investigative report. This lack of transparency prompted concerns about accountability and the citys commitment to addressing misconduct within its police department. Public records requests and litigationOpen Vallejo filed numerous public records requests in 2024, contributing to new public records being released. After analyzing thousands of pages of documents relating to police violence and misconduct, and even after a final ruling in our nonprofit newsrooms favor, we are still in ongoing litigation with the City of Vallejo to enforce the disclosure of public records related to shootings and great bodily injury by Vallejo police. Both the litigation and the analysis have generated new public record releases, which allowed our newsroom to produce new reporting that has informed the public both in Vallejo and across the country. We are also prosecuting a separate public records lawsuit against the Solano County District Attorney and Solano County Sheriff for similar records, which has similarly resulted in the disclosure of records that had remained out of public view for years.Freedom of the PressOpen Vallejo has been an early and active partner in the Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program, including through the litigation referenced above.
Expenses $170,676
As filed on the 2024 return.
Listed in Part VII
-
Geoffrey W King
President
- Total calculated
- $900
- From this org
- $900
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $0
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Brendan Riley
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Dan Rubins
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Kimberly Spencer
Treasurer
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Harlo Holmes
Secretary
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
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.
Grants on this return
No itemized grants to organizations on this return.
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2024
- Filed
- 17 April 2025
- IRS schema version
- 2024v5.1
- Source object
- 202511079349300206
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