Ether Sea Projects D/B/A Litmus Press publishes innovative poetry, prose, and formally experimental writing from around the world. We champion avant-garde legacies through our stewardship of foundational feminist predecessors of small press publishing and the creation of resources that deepen literacy and appreciation of complex works. In cultivating a transnational and diasporic literary landscape that resists aesthetic, generic, and geopolitical boundaries, we envision a future that everyone can inhabit.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
89¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 7 volunteers and 3 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 3
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $5K a year · 2% of revenue · last 3 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 3 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 3 filings
Spent on programs
89%
of spending
Looks good: 89% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$22K
to officers and key staff · 10% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 10% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Concern: 0.4 months of spending in cash; under 2 weeks.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $10K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1K
9% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 9% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$225K
-8% vs prior year
Spent
$226K
To programs
89%
Net assets
$14K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$225K
FY2025▼ -8%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$147K
FY2021$166K
FY2022$127K
FY2023$232K
FY2024$244K
FY2025$225K
Expenses
$226K
FY2025▼ -4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020Not on file
FY2021Not on file
FY2022Not on file
FY2023$253K
FY2024$236K
FY2025$226K
Net assets
$14K
FY2025▲ +135%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$25K
FY2021$57K
FY2022$27K
FY2023$3K
FY2024$6K
FY2025$14K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 2004.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 89% · $202K Management & general 10% · $24K Fundraising 0% · $715

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

8 people listed on the 990; $22K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$22,000Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Trustee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

E Tracy Grinnell’s $22K as Executive Dir. is at the 17th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2215 $100K–1M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
E Tracy Grinnell$22,000$22,000$22,000$13,015$2,596

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Ether Sea Projects INC DBA Litmus Press executive salaries →

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Publishes innovative, cross-genre literature and art by diverse creators.

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3 programs · $202K · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

Book Publications

Print Books published (4)1. Controlled Demolition: A Work in Four Books by Ammiel Alcalay.2. The Unlikeness of Things by Virginie Poitrasson, translated by Michelle Noteboom.3. Erode by Biswamit Dwibedy.4. Yes, I Am A Destroyer by Mira Mattar.Open Poetics Digital Edition (1)Dead Youth, or The Leaks by Joyelle McSweeney.

$141Kprogram expense
02

Public Events

1. Viscera Book Launch with Mark Tardi, Malgorzata Myk, and Natalia Malek, Housing Works Bookstore NYC.2. Free Writing Workshop with Mark Tardi, Malgorzata Myk, and Natalia Malek, Greenpoint Public Library NYC.3. Asia & Haiti Book Launch with Will Alexander, 192 Books NYC.4.

$40Kprogram expense
03

Accessibility -- educational access to out-of-print titles & new teaching resources available for free via our website. We launched a new digital-critical edition in our open poetics series, a collaborative project with cuny's digital humanities program, manifold scholarship.

$20Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$10K

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$225K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$182K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$43K
Investment incomeLn 3$61
Money outPt IX
$226K
Ln 25
Programscol B$202K
Managementcol C$24K
Fundraisingcol D$715
Owns and owesPt X
$14K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$8K
Total assetsLn 16$15K
LiabilitiesLn 26$1K
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$182K
Government grantsLn 1e$78K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$28K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$43K
Investment incomeLn 3$61
Gains on assetsLn 7−$346
Total revenueLn 12$225K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$8K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$8K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$15K
LiabilitiesLn 26$1K
Net assetsLn 32$14K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 67
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6K$8K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$6K$15K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$1K
Net assetsLn 32$6K$14K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$22K$15K$7K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$46K$46K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$6K$5K$1K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$4K$4K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$43K$40K$2K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$573$573
Office expensesLn 13$8K$8K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$8K$8K
TravelLn 17$197$197
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$1K$1K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$69K$69K
All other expensesLn 24e$17K$17K$142
Total functional expensesLn 25$226K$202K$24K$715

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $225K$226K−$925$14K 990 PDF
FY2024 $244K$236K$7K$6K 990 PDF
FY2023 $232K$253K−$21K$3K 990 PDF
FY2022 $127K$27K 990 PDF
FY2021 $166K$57K 990 PDF
FY2020 $147K$25K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $224,885 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $204,727$181,701
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $35,450$43,469
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $3,470−$285
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $243,647$224,885
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $78,726$74,224
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $157,609$151,586
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $236,335$225,810
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $7,312−$925
Part VI · Governance 7 of 8 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $224,885 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$78,083
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$103,618
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$28,259
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$181,701
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $43,469$43,469
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $61$61
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission −$346−$346
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $43,123 · Excluded from tax $61$224,885
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $225,810 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $15,400 · Management $6,600$22,000
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $46,200$46,200
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $5,019 · Management $1,005$6,024
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $4,388$4,388
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $40,483 · Management $2,056$42,539
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $573$573
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $8,151$8,151
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $8,295$8,295
IX-17 TravelPrograms $197$197
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $1,315$1,315
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $69,222$69,222
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $16,764 · Fundraising $142$16,906
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $201,580 · Management $23,515 · Fundraising $715$225,810
Part X · Balance sheet $15,173 assets, 17 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $5,876$8,187
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$6,986
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $5,876$15,173
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$1,363
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $5,876$13,810
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,876$13,810
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $5,876$15,173
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $13,810 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$224,885
XI-2 Total expenses$225,810
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$925
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,876
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$5,585
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$3,274
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$13,810

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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