Mesa Refuge EIN 46-2740651 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Mesa Refuge FY2023 filing

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Supports writers and creatives to address urgent environmental, economic, and social issues. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $537K in revenue, $476K in expenses, and $3.1M in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Arts & Culture
Location
Pt Reyes Sta, CA
Website
www.mesarefuge.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2023)
Revenue
$537KFY2023
Expenses
$476K
Net assets
$3.1M
People
11
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  46-2740651 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Pt Reyes Sta, CA
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Supports writers and creatives to address urgent environmental, economic, and social issues.
Leadership
Kamala Tully · Executive Dir. · $112K
Money in and out
$537K revenue, $476K expenses
Bottom line
75% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$537K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$476K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$3.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $61K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.13
Program efficiency
75%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
6.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+11%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$537K
FY2023▲ +7%
Expenses
$476K
FY2023▲ +1%
Total assets
$3.4M
FY2023▲ +0.8%
Total liabilities
$344K
FY2023▼ -9%
Total revenue
$537K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$476K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$3.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$61K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$3.4M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B75%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 310
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 410

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CMesa Refuge
EINHdr · item D46-2740651
Principal addressHdr · item CPt Reyes Sta, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.mesarefuge.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A90)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 2015

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a10
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b10
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$111,500Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kamala Tully’s $116K as Executive Dir. is at the 94th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2213 $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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Kamala Tully$116,500$116,500$111,500$100,400
Susan Page Tillett$54,000$113,000$113,000

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $358K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

In 2023, Mesa Refuge had a full schedule of one and two-week writing residencies, each of which served 3 people at a time. We hosted 43 writers and activists in our spring and fall residency programs, 24 of whom were awarded fellowships.

$358Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$434K · 81%
Program service revenue$101K · 19%
Contributions & grants81%$434K
Program service revenue19%$101K
Investment income$1K
Total revenueLn 12$537K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.13
Program services75%$358K
Management & general12%$55K
Fundraising13%$62K
Total functional expensesLn 25$476K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$237K
Total assetsLn 16$3.4M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$344K
Total net assetsLn 32$3.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $237K · Operating expenses/yr $476K
6.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $358K · Total expenses $476K
75%
Management & General
Management & general $55K · Total expenses $476K
12%
Fundraising
Fundraising $62K · Total expenses $476K
13%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $59K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.4M
$0.04 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $434K · Total revenue $537K
81%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $537K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $101K · Total revenue $537K
19%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1K · Total revenue $537K
+0.2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $101K · Total expenses $476K
21%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $537K · Prior year $500K
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $3.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $537K · Expenses $476K
+11%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $3.4M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $3.1M · Total assets $3.4M
90%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $3.4M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Kamala Tully · Reported title Executive Dir. · Highest reported compensation $112K · Total expenses $476K
23%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $127K · Total expenses $476K
27%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 75%
Overhead ratio 12%
Fundraising cost ratio 14%
Revenue growth 7%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0.5%
Accounting fee ratio 3%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

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 · FY2024
See all 8 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $20K · 2024–2025
Unitemized GrantFY2025$15,000
Unitemized GrantFY2024$5,500

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$599K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$735K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$537K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$500K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$3.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$451K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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