Burning Man Project EIN 45-2638273

Burning Man Project

EIN  45-2638273 Public charity (501(c)(3)) San Francisco, CA Founded 2011
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/9/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Promotes a global cultural movement by fostering community, art, education, and civic engagement based on the ten principles of Burning Man.
Leadership
Marian Goodell · Director/Chief Executive Officer · $378K
Money in and out
$56.0M revenue, $66.7M expenses
Bottom line
-19% surplus margin

Promotes a global cultural movement by fostering community, art, education, and civic engagement based on the ten principles of Burning Man. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $56.0M in revenue, $66.7M in expenses, and $19.0M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$56.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$66.7M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$19.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$10.6M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.83 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.04
Surplus margin
-19%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -525% vs prior filing year
Revenue trend
+38%
avg. annual growth over 5 years
Donor-funded
12%
of revenue is gifts & grants▼ -5% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$56.0M
FY2024▼ -16%
Expenses
$66.7M
FY2024▲ +5%
Total assets
$30.5M
FY2024▼ -19%
Total liabilities
$11.5M
FY2024▲ +46%
Total revenue
$56.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$66.7M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$19.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$10.6M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$30.5M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B83%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 3pending
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 4pending
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $50.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

Black rock cityblack rock city ("BRC") is a temporary metropolis dedicated to art, community, and culture created by its 70,000+ participants and guided by the ten principles of burning man (see above).

$43.8Mprogram expense
02

Burning man artsthe burning man arts program includes the art of black rock city, civic arts, and global art GRANTS.BLACK rock city honoraria: the 2023 award of $1,325,470 in grant funds along with other resources and capacity planning to artists in the creation and future installation of works of art in black rock city, nevada.

$3.8Mprogram expense
03

Civic engagementbmp's civic engagement program includes the burning man regional network (the ""regional network"") and burners without borders. The regional network is a global network of individuals, events, and organizations inspired by the values reflected in the ten principles.

$2.9Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CBurning Man Project
EINHdr · item D45-2638273
Principal addressHdr · item CSan Francisco, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.burningman.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2011
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCommunity Development (S20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 2012

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1apending
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1bpending
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12a
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15a
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2023); the FY2024 filing did not itemize Part VII
Director/Chief Executive Officer
$378,237Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Technology Officer
$309,051Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$246,599Pt VII · Sec A
General Counsel
$239,280Pt VII · Sec A
Director/Chief Culture Officer
$226,129Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$210,314Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Philanthropic Engagement
$204,126Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Event Operations
$202,593Pt VII · Sec A

Marian Goodell’s $378K as Director/Chief Executive Officer is at the 67th percentile of top reported officer pay among 572 $10–100M community development 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Marian Goodell$378,237$346,747$327,006$282,812
Steven Blumenfeld$309,051$306,540$294,029$177,793
Heather White$246,599$224,017$217,818$187,855
Adam Belsky$239,280$212,995
Harley K Dubois$226,129$223,396$231,638$204,995
Doug Robertson$210,314$198,431$192,166$170,911
Daniel Kaufman$204,126$200,535$190,231
Charlie Dolman$202,593$195,262$188,030$146,061

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Other revenue$49.5M · 88%
Contributions & grants$6.6M · 12%
Other revenue88%$49.5M
Contributions & grants12%$6.6M
Total revenueLn 12$56.0M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.83 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.04
Program services83%$55.2M
Management & general14%$9.1M
Fundraising4%$2.3M
Total functional expensesLn 25$66.7M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1
Total assetsLn 16$30.5M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$11.5M
Total net assetsLn 32$19.0M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves — · Operating expenses/yr $66.7M
Highly liquid reserves (cash & marketable securities on Pt X) ÷ monthly operating expenses (Pt IX total, less non-cash grants & depreciation when reported).
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services — · Total expenses $66.7M
Management & General
Management & general — · Total expenses $66.7M
Fundraising
Fundraising — · Total expenses $66.7M
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $1.3M · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $8.1M
$0.16 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $6.6M · Total revenue $56.0M
12%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $56.0M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue — · Total revenue $56.0M
Investment reliance
Investment income — · Total revenue $56.0M
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue — · Total expenses $66.7M
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $56.0M · Prior year $66.6M
-16%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $15.6M · FY2024 $56.0M
+38%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $19.0M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $56.0M · Expenses $66.7M
-19%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $30.5M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $19.0M · Total assets $30.5M
62%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $30.5M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual — · Reported title — · Highest reported compensation — · Total expenses $66.7M
No individual compensation reported on this filing
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) — · Total expenses $66.7M
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 83%
Overhead ratio 14%
Fundraising cost ratio 36%
Revenue growth -16%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$75K
Grants paid · 63 grants · $3.1M · 2020–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$790,981
Twoforsea LLCFY2023$80,000
Jen Lewin Studios LLCFY2023$44,500
Resonant Arts LLCFY2023$40,000
Box Shop INCFY2023$40,000
Black Burner Project CoMD · FY2023$35,000
Participatory Safety INCNY · FY2023$33,000
McConnell Studios INCFY2023$31,500
Unitemized GrantFY2023$29,575
Tyler Fuqua Creations INCFY2023$21,000
Dsc Metal CollectiveFY2023$20,650
Looking Up Arts FoundationCA · FY2023$17,100
Goodly House Productions LLCFY2023$17,000
Tatareef INCFY2023$13,500
Mr & Mrs Ferguson LLCFY2023$13,000
Moonlight Collective LLCFY2023$10,000
Gerlach General Improvement DistrictFY2023$10,000
See all 63 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$56.0M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$66.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$62.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$27.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$15.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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