Tech Frontier DBA Fab Lab El Paso FY2022 filing

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Provide open-door, open-access grassroots community space, hardware, software and resource support for education, research and development

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$93K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2022 · 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
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $3K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
Fine: 73% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$93K
to officers and key staff · 17% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 17% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $7K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$81K
22% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 22% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
0
of 7 voting members
Concern: none of 7 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$589K
+94% vs prior year
Spent
$532K
To programs
73%
Net assets
$286K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$589K
FY2022▲ +94%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$251K
FY2021$303K
FY2022$589K
FY2023$601K
FY2024$746K
FY2025$627K
Expenses
$532K
FY2022▲ +66%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$266K
FY2021$320K
FY2022$532K
FY2023$738K
FY2024$738K
FY2025$543K
Net assets
$286K
FY2022▲ +115%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$150K
FY2021$133K
FY2022$286K
FY2023$134K
FY2024$69K
FY2025$149K

From the FY2022 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2015.

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

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $391K Management & general 27% · $141K Fundraising 0% · $171

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

7 people listed on the 990; $93K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Exec Dir
$93,077Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Pres
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Cathy Chen’s $120K as Exec Dir is at the 95th 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Cathy Chen$120,000$94,615$94,615$93,077——
Cathryn Chen————$69,596$59,788

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.

See Tech Frontier DBA Fab Lab El Paso executive salaries →

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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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Offers open access community space, hardware, software, and resources for education and development.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $391K · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Grants & Contributions

$319Kprogram expense
02

General Workshop

$67Kprogram expense
03

Consulting & Professional Development

$5Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$7K

By the numbers

The FY2022 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$589K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$589K
Money outPt IX
$532K
Ln 25
Programscol B$391K
Managementcol C$141K
Fundraisingcol D$171
Owns and owesPt X
$286K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$294K
Total assetsLn 16$367K
LiabilitiesLn 26$81K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b0
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$589K
Government grantsLn 1e$10K
Total revenueLn 12$589K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$294K
SavingsLn 2$600
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$294K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$73K
Total assetsLn 16$367K
LiabilitiesLn 26$81K
Net assetsLn 32$286K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY22End FY22
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$149K$294K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$64K$73K
Total assetsLn 16$213K$367K
LiabilitiesLn 26$79K$81K
Net assetsLn 32$133K$286K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$93K$93K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$131K$131K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$785$667$118
Payroll taxesLn 10$20K$13K$7K
Legal feesLn 11b$391$332$59
Accounting feesLn 11c$241$205$36
Advertising and promotionLn 12$4K$3K$571
Office expensesLn 13$10K$8K$1K
Information technologyLn 14$1K$1K$199
OccupancyLn 16$20K$17K$3K
TravelLn 17$4K$4K$655
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$105$89$16
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$92K$78K$14K
InsuranceLn 23$3K$2K$432
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$74K$63K$11K$6
All other expensesLn 24e$78K$69K$9K$165
Total functional expensesLn 25$532K$391K$141K$171

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Apr 14, 2026 $627K$543K$84K$149K 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Sep 9, 2025 $746K$738K$8K$69K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2024 $601K$738K−$137K$134K 990 PDF
FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 14, 2023 $589K$532K$57K$286K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 16, 2022 $303K$320K−$17K$133K 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 10, 2021 $251K$266K−$15K$150K 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 O · Explanations
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $589,191 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $303,430$589,191
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $303,430$589,191
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $202,997$244,571
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $116,972$287,654
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $319,969$532,225
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$16,539$56,966
Part VI · Governance 0 of 7 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members0
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $589,191 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$10,304
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$578,887
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$589,191
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenue$589,191
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $532,225 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $93,077$93,077
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $130,842$130,842
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $667 · Management $118$785
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $12,747 · Management $7,120$19,867
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $332 · Management $59$391
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $205 · Management $36$241
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $3,241 · Management $571$3,812
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $8,414 · Management $1,484$9,898
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $1,131 · Management $199$1,330
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $17,341 · Management $3,058$20,399
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,714 · Management $655$4,369
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $89 · Management $16$105
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $78,024 · Management $13,758$91,782
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $2,453 · Management $432$2,885
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $62,986 · Management $11,243 · Fundraising $6$74,235
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $68,619 · Management $9,423 · Fundraising $165$78,207
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $390,805 · Management $141,249 · Fundraising $171$532,225
Part X · Balance sheet $367,184 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $148,210$293,680
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $600$600
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $63,786$72,904
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $212,596$367,184
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $68,538$68,539
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $10,848$12,447
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $79,386$80,986
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $133,210$286,198
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $212,596$367,184
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $286,198 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$589,191
XI-2 Total expenses$532,225
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$56,966
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$133,210
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$286,198

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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