Florida Litfest INC FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Tallahassee, FL501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 46-3527772

To further the common good and general welfare of the tallahassee, FL area community by promoting a public literary festival for the benefit of the citizens of leon county, florida and the state of florida and surrounding areas.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
96¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
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
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 years looks good.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
1 of 6
years in the black
Concern: 5 of the last 6 filings show a deficit.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
How much reaches the programs?
96%
of spending
Looks good: 96% of spending went to programs; 75% or more looks good.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Do they have reserves?
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more looks good.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
1
named funder · $12K
Worth a look: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3 is worth a look.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$2K
liabilities
Looks good: debts are 1% of assets; 50% or less looks good.
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
19
independent of 19 voting board members
Looks good: 19 of 19 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodWorth a lookConcernTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$181K
-37% vs prior year
Spent
$260K
To programs
96%
Net assets
$151K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$181K
FY2021▼ -37%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$289K
FY2021$181K
FY2022$342K
FY2023$652K
FY2024$465K
FY2025$631K
Expenses
$260K
FY2021▲ +106%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$126K
FY2021$260K
FY2022$360K
FY2023$737K
FY2024$504K
FY2025$655K
Net assets
$151K
FY2021▼ -34%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$230K
FY2021$151K
FY2022$133K
FY2023$48K
FY2024$9K
FY2025−$15K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2025 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CFlorida Litfest INC
EINHdr · item D46-3527772
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 2014
Latest filingForm 990FY2025 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CTallahassee, FL
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A20)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.wordofsouthfestival.com

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.96 Management & general $0.03 Fundraising $0.01
Program services96%$249K
Management & general3%$8K
Fundraising1%$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$260K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
96%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
7.1mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-44%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Total assets
$153K
FY2021▼ -33%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2020$230K
FY2021$153K
FY2022$135K
FY2023$102K
FY2024$13K
FY2025$20K
Total liabilities
$2K
FY2021
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2020$0
FY2021$2K
FY2022$2K
FY2023$54K
FY2024$4K
FY2025$35K
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$79K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$153K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B96%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 319
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 419

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$153K
Total assetsLn 16$153K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2K
Total net assetsLn 32$151K
Months of cash on handcomputed7.1

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$181K
— government grantsLn 1e$90K
Total revenueLn 12$181K

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $153K · Operating expenses/yr $260K
7.1 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $249K · Total expenses $260K
96%
Management & General
Management & general $8K · Total expenses $260K
3%
Fundraising
Fundraising $3K · Total expenses $260K
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $4K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $145K
$0.03 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $181K · Total revenue $181K
100%
Government reliance
Government grants $90K · Total revenue $181K
50%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $181K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $181K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $260K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $181K · Prior year $289K
-37%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $151K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $181K · Expenses $260K
-44%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $153K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $151K · Total assets $153K
99%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $153K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Scott Balog · Reported title VICE PRESIDE · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $260K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) — · Total expenses $260K
—
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 96%——
Overhead ratio 3%——
Fundraising cost ratio 2%——
Revenue growth -37%——
Accounting fee ratio 1%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Vice Preside
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Preside
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sara Marchessault’s $33K as Executive Di is at the 27th 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023
Sara Marchessault$32,917$27,083

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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 19Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 19Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Promotes a public literary festival for the Tallahassee area community.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Florida Litfest INC claims this page.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $249K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

The word of south festival is our signature event. This annual event was held in april 2021 with special attention paid to preventing the spread of COVID-19. Performers included over 80 musicians, writers, and poets. 2,000 people attended.

$249Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$12K
Grants paid · 1 grant · $10K · 2019–2019
Unitemized GrantFY2019$10,500

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2025 Latest $631K$655K+36% 990 PDF
FY2024 $465K$504K-29% 990 PDF
FY2023 $652K$737K+91% 990 PDF
FY2022 $342K$360K+89% 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $181K$260K-37% 990 PDF
FY2020 $289K$126K 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

Full filing: Form 990 for FY2021

Every line we hold from the return, cited to its Part and line.
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $259,706 across 8 lines filed
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $17,200 · Management $3,225 · Fundraising $1,075$21,500
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $3,340$3,340
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $83,715$83,715
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $34,013 · Fundraising $1,790$35,803
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $8,487 · Management $1,272$9,759
IX-17 TravelPrograms $12,947$12,947
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,293 · Management $144$1,437
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $91,205$91,205
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $248,860 · Management $7,981 · Fundraising $2,865$259,706

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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