Creative Nonfiction Foundation FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

Pittsburgh, PA501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 25-1732894Revenue $595K in FY2020

On file with the IRScreativenonfiction.org5701 Centre Ave Apt 1304, 15206-3748 · Pittsburgh, PATax-exempt since Jul 1994Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Educational and publishing initiatives in the genre of literary Nonfiction.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
68¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$55K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2020 · 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
2 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $39K a year · 7% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
68%
of spending
Fine: 68% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$55K
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $110K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$165K
60% of total assets
Fine: liabilities are 60% of assets; 50% to 65%.
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
$595K
Spent
$759K
To programs
68%
Net assets
$108K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$595K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$595K
FY2021$862K
FY2022$898K
FY2023$302K
FY2024$61K
FY2025$133K
Expenses
$759K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$759K
FY2021$743K
FY2022$767K
FY2023$441K
FY2024$203K
FY2025Not on file
Net assets
$108K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$108K
FY2021$227K
FY2022$359K
FY2023$220K
FY2024$79K
FY2025$54K

From the FY2020 Form 990 (year ending June 2020) · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1994.

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

Where the money goes

68 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 68% · $513K Management & general 23% · $173K Fundraising 10% · $74K

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; $55K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
President
$45,262Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary/Treasurer
$9,887Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Lee Gutkind’s $43K as President is at the 38th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2216 $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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lee Gutkind$42,692$45,463$35,029$34,695$45,262
Patricia Park$21,276$13,907$11,595$10,409$9,887

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.

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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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Promotes literary nonfiction through educational programs and publishing.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $460K · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

Creative nonfiction's online courses offer instruction in the craft of nonfiction writing to a wide variety of students.

$307Kprogram expense
02

The quarterly magazine is a resource for a growing audience of readers, writers, students, and teachers.

$98Kprogram expense
03

True story is a pocket size monthly publication showcasing one essay. Each issue is a small immersion in a larger-than-life story or experience that makes us think differently about what it means to be human

$55Kprogram 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 · FY2022
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$110K

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$595K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$353K
Other incomeLn 4–11$175K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$66K
Money outPt IX
$759K
Ln 25
Programscol B$513K
Managementcol C$173K
Fundraisingcol D$74K
Owns and owesPt X
$108K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$227K
Total assetsLn 16$273K
LiabilitiesLn 26$165K
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$66K
Government grantsLn 1e$27K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$353K
Investment incomeLn 3$661
Other incomeLn 4–11$175K
Total revenueLn 12$595K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$227K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$227K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$24K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$2K
Total assetsLn 16$273K
LiabilitiesLn 26$165K
Net assetsLn 32$108K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 512
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$347K$227K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$22K$24K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0$0
Total assetsLn 16$393K$273K
LiabilitiesLn 26$121K$165K
Net assetsLn 32$272K$108K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$55K$45K$10K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$174K$138K$25K$11K
Payroll taxesLn 10$20K$16K$3K$999
Legal feesLn 11b$100$100
Accounting feesLn 11c$17K$7K$10K
Investment management feesLn 11f$75$75
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$163K$134K$600$29K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$19K$15K$2K$3K
Office expensesLn 13$7K$1K$6K$82
Information technologyLn 14$58K$35K$3K$20K
OccupancyLn 16$20K$3K$17K
TravelLn 17$2K$2K
InterestLn 20$547$547
InsuranceLn 23$3K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$162K$102K$51K$9K
All other expensesLn 24e$57K$17K$39K
Total functional expensesLn 25$759K$513K$173K$74K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $133K$54K 990 PDF
FY2024 $61K$203K−$141K$79K 990 PDF
FY2023 $302K$441K−$139K$220K 990 PDF
FY2022 $898K$767K$131K$359K 990 PDF
FY2021 $862K$743K$119K$227K 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $595K$759K−$164K$108K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $594,774 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $229,100$65,940
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $323,845$352,870
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $759$661
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $200,390$175,303
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $754,094$594,774
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $285,970$249,377
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $549,514$509,562
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $835,484$758,939
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$81,390−$164,165
Part VI · Governance 7 of 8 board members independent, 4 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body8
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $594,774 across 7 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $7,488 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$27,078
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$38,862
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$65,940
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $352,870$352,870
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $661$661
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $167,815$167,815
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $528,834 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$594,774
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $758,939 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $45,262 · Management $9,887$55,149
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $138,260 · Management $24,524 · Fundraising $11,470$174,254
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $15,979 · Management $2,996 · Fundraising $999$19,974
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $100$100
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $6,619 · Management $10,495$17,114
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $75$75
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $133,544 · Management $600 · Fundraising $29,058$163,202
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $14,894 · Management $1,911 · Fundraising $2,518$19,323
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,106 · Management $6,090 · Fundraising $82$7,278
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $34,865 · Management $3,325 · Fundraising $20,000$58,190
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,000 · Management $16,830$19,830
IX-17 TravelManagement $1,907$1,907
IX-20 InterestManagement $547$547
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $3,060$3,060
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $102,033 · Management $50,744 · Fundraising $9,489$162,266
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $17,234 · Management $39,436$56,670
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $512,796 · Management $172,527 · Fundraising $73,616$758,939
Part X · Balance sheet $273,225 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $347,436$227,482
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $22,078$20,574
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $0$0
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $22,361$23,669
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1,200$1,500
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $393,075$273,225
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $23,066$14,291
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $98,430$128,798
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payable$21,722
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $121,496$164,811
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $119,223$65,364
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $152,356$43,050
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $271,579$108,414
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $393,075$273,225
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $108,414 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$594,774
XI-2 Total expenses$758,939
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$164,165
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$271,579
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$1,000
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$108,414

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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