Uphold and manifest the ten principles of Burning Man internationally through art and culture, education, and civic engagement.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
64¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$2.5M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.6M a year · 4% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
64%
of spending
Worth a look: 64% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$2.5M
to officers and key staff · 11% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 11% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $75K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5.5M
22% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 22% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 19 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 19 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$15.6M
Spent
$22.7M
To programs
64%
Net assets
$19.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$15.6M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$15.6M
FY2021$27.7M
FY2022$62.6M
FY2023$66.6M
FY2024$56.0M
Expenses
$22.7M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$22.7M
FY2021$25.1M
FY2022$58.5M
FY2023$63.6M
FY2024$66.7M
Net assets
$19.6M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$19.6M
FY2021$22.2M
FY2022$26.7M
FY2023$29.7M
FY2024$19.0M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Apr 2012.

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

Where the money goes

64 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 64% · $14.6M Management & general 32% · $7.1M Fundraising 4% · $946K

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

30 people listed on the 990; $2.5M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Director/Chief Executive Officer
$282,812Pt VII · Sec A
$204,995Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$187,855Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Technology Officer
$177,793Pt VII · Sec A
General Counsel
$175,461Pt VII · Sec A
$171,181Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$170,911Pt VII · Sec A
Director of People and Learning
$158,070Pt VII · Sec A

Marian Goodell’s $378K as Director/Chief Executive Officer is at the 66th 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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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 15aYes

Programs and updates

Promotes a global cultural movement by fostering community, art, education, and civic engagement based on the ten principles of Burning Man.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $11.8M · in their own filed words · FY2020
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).

$8.7Mprogram expense
02

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.

$1.6Mprogram expense
03

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 2020 award of $56,000 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.

$1.6Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

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 →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$15.6M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$12.4M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$1.3M
Money outPt IX
$22.7M
Ln 25
Programscol B$14.6M
Managementcol C$7.1M
Fundraisingcol D$946K
Owns and owesPt X
$19.6M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$10.8M
Total assetsLn 16$25.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.5M
PeoplePt VI, VII
30
listed · VII A
PaidVII A16
Voting boardVI 1a19
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$12.4M
Government grantsLn 1e$36K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$259K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$1.3M
Other incomeLn 4–11$47K
Gains on assetsLn 7$1.2M
Total revenueLn 12$15.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$5.5M
SavingsLn 2$5.3M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$10.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$9.2M
Other assetsLn 15$10K
Total assetsLn 16$25.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.5M
Net assetsLn 32$19.6M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5288
VolunteersI 610,000
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$16.0M$10.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$9.5M$9.2M
Total assetsLn 16$31.7M$25.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.1M$5.5M
Net assetsLn 32$26.6M$19.6M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$66K$66K
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$15K$15K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$2.0M$965K$999K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$10.8M$7.6M$2.7M$497K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.2M$798K$381K$36K
Payroll taxesLn 10$962K$644K$278K$40K
Legal feesLn 11b$627K$423K$204K
Accounting feesLn 11c$126K$126K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$226K$226K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1.4M$1.1M$370K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$3K$801$2K
Office expensesLn 13$557K$96K$451K$10K
Information technologyLn 14$394K$124K$270K
OccupancyLn 16$1.6M$1.1M$520K$33K
TravelLn 17$167K$134K$30K$4K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$13K$11K$2K
InterestLn 20$16K$16K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$863K$421K$442K
InsuranceLn 23$364K$238K$113K$13K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$990K$835K$89K$66K
All other expensesLn 24e$207K$65K$122K$20K
Total functional expensesLn 25$22.7M$14.6M$7.1M$946K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $56.0M$66.7M−$10.6M$19.0M 990 PDF
FY2023 $66.6M$63.6M$3.0M$29.7M 990 PDF
FY2022 $62.6M$58.5M$4.0M$26.7M 990 PDF
FY2021 $27.7M$25.1M$2.6M$22.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $15.6M$22.7M−$7.0M$19.6M 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 J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $15,633,807 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $2,217,006$12,366,591
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $43,743,993$1,960,703
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $53,256$1,259,111
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $400,620$47,402
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $46,414,875$15,633,807
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $1,708,753$80,173
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $18,905,799$14,954,109
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $85,989$226,450
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $25,364,325$7,394,966
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $46,064,866$22,655,698
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $350,009−$7,021,891
Part VI · Governance 13 of 19 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body19
VI-1b Independent voting members13
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $15,633,807 across 9 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $41,054 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$35,910
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$12,330,681
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$259,177
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$12,366,591
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,960,703$1,960,703
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $10,737$10,737
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $6,348$6,348
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $1,248,374$1,248,374
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,960,703 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1,306,513$15,633,807
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $22,655,698 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $65,593$65,593
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $14,580$14,580
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $965,352 · Management $998,635$1,963,987
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $7,588,546 · Management $2,727,531 · Fundraising $497,162$10,813,239
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $797,762 · Management $380,875 · Fundraising $36,312$1,214,949
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $643,690 · Management $278,485 · Fundraising $39,759$961,934
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $422,929 · Management $204,328$627,257
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $126,364$126,364
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $226,450$226,450
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,055,439 · Management $369,849$1,425,288
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $801 · Management $2,120$2,921
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $96,424 · Management $450,729 · Fundraising $9,955$557,108
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $124,193 · Management $269,615$393,808
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $1,089,074 · Management $519,567 · Fundraising $33,091$1,641,732
IX-17 TravelPrograms $133,513 · Management $29,586 · Fundraising $4,240$167,339
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $10,783 · Management $2,298$13,081
IX-20 InterestManagement $16,083$16,083
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $421,366 · Management $442,084$863,450
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $238,270 · Management $112,706 · Fundraising $12,806$363,782
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $835,044 · Management $89,156 · Fundraising $65,765$989,965
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $64,626 · Management $122,141 · Fundraising $20,021$206,788
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $14,567,985 · Management $7,142,152 · Fundraising $945,561$22,655,698
Part X · Balance sheet $25,058,069 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $8,823,849$5,524,195
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $7,195,867$5,282,275
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $520,000$169,621
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $472,310$345,585
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $29,676$23,635
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $490,326$788,876
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $9,508,085$9,228,957
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $4,107,957$3,684,850
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $417,300$10,075
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $31,715,370$25,058,069
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $4,738,048$2,346,976
X-19 Deferred revenue$79,625
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $370,957$3,046,994
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $5,109,005$5,473,595
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $26,081,791$19,410,303
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $524,574$174,171
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $26,606,365$19,584,474
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $31,715,370$25,058,069
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $19,584,474 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$15,633,807
XI-2 Total expenses$22,655,698
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$7,021,891
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$26,606,365
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$19,584,474

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

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