Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Aug 2011.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
71 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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; $633K paid to officers and key staff.
Cynthia Germanotta’s $294K as Director, President is at the 95th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1690 $1–10M philanthropy & grantmaking 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Enista Smith | — | $91,034 | $321,801 | $317,340 | $261,587 |
| Cynthia Germanotta | $293,978 | $290,355 | $285,716 | $304,450 | $264,491 |
| Rachel Martin | $250,951 | — | — | — | — |
| Getenesh M Yilma | $155,913 | $143,928 | $130,266 | $116,660 | — |
| Gary a Aide | $153,942 | $141,661 | $128,167 | $119,657 | — |
| Claudia Fernandes | $152,281 | — | — | — | — |
| Rachel Martin COO | — | $142,338 | — | — | — |
| Susan Horrell | — | — | $139,423 | $128,514 | — |
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
Empowering young people to build a kinder, braver world through wellness support.
Questions for Born This Way Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Born This Way Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Channel Kindness
A platform created by young people, for young people to tell stories of kindness happening in their communities, providing a hopeful alternative to the overwhelmingly negative narratives that dominate the media.
Teen Mental Health First Aid (tmhfa)
Born this way foundation partnered with the national council for behavioral health to bring tmhfa programming to the united states. In 2019, this program became the first in the united states to provide mental health first aid training to high-schoolers, giving young people the hands-on preparation they need to support peers who are…
Donorschoose.org Partnership
A collaboration with DONORSCHOOSE.ORG to encourage teachers and students to create mental and emotional wellness projects in their classrooms, and to provide matching funds to bring these ideas to life.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $986K | $2.6M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $946 | $4K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.1M | $5.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $228K | $41K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.9M | $5.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $16K | $16K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $558K | $348K | $83K | $127K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $633K | $411K | $70K | $152K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $41K | $9K | $32K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $59K | $38K | $7K | $14K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $20K | $20K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $25K | $25K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.2M | $1.1M | $117K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $44K | $7K | $33K | $4K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $47K | $5K | $37K | $5K |
| TravelLn 17 | $26K | $14K | $9K | $2K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $3K | $3K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $16K | $231 | $16K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $32K | $15K | $12K | $5K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.7M | $1.9M | $463K | $311K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $6.0M | $6.9M | −$907K | $8.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $7.1M | $3.6M | $3.5M | $9.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $5.3M | $4.9M | $430K | $5.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.5M | $3.3M | $286K | $5.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $4.6M | $2.7M | $1.9M | $5.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,562,590 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 6 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,562,590 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,701,532 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $5,773,916 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,732,827 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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