Foundation for Critical Thinking FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Santa Barbara, CA501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 68-0225053Revenue $303K in FY2021

On file with the IRSPo Box 31080, 93130-1080 · Santa Barbara, CATax-exempt since Oct 1995Publicly supported — 509(a)(2)

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To promote fair-minded Critical Thinking.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
46¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$60K 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

FY2021 · 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
1 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $21K a year · 10% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
46%
of spending
Concern: 46% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$60K
to officers and key staff · 21% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 21% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $171
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$8K
1% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
1
of 2 voting members
Fine: 1 of 2 voting members are independent, half.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$303K
+52% vs prior year
Spent
$282K
To programs
46%
Net assets
$639K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$303K
FY2021▲ +52%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$199K
FY2021$303K
FY2022$200K
FY2023$186K
FY2024$163K
Expenses
$282K
FY2021▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$272K
FY2021$282K
FY2022$229K
FY2023$191K
FY2024$182K
Net assets
$639K
FY2021▲ +3%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$619K
FY2021$639K
FY2022$610K
FY2023$605K
FY2024$587K

From the FY2021 Form 990 · see the original

Form 990 (PDF) Claim
You’re viewing the FY2021 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 Oct 1995.

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

Where the money goes

46 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 46% · $131K Management & general 49% · $139K Fundraising 4% · $13K

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

2 people listed on the 990; $60K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$60,000Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Linda Elder Paul’s $1K as President & CEO is at the 1st 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Linda Elder Paul$1,299$1,299$20,650$60,000—
Linda Elder————$60,000

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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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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Promotes fair-minded critical thinking to foster informed decision-making.

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Provided by the organization

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2 programs · $131K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Hosted annual conference structured to play a key role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of fairminded critical thought in education and in society.

$91Kprogram expense
02

Hosted workshops to foster essential change in education through the cultivation of fairminded critical thinking. The workshops provide an opportunity for its participants to learn or deepen their understanding of the foundations of critical thinking and to contextualize them in the participant's work or teaching.

$39Kprogram 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 · FY2023
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$171

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$303K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$218K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$77K
Other incomeLn 4–11$8K
Money outPt IX
$282K
Ln 25
Programscol B$131K
Managementcol C$139K
Fundraisingcol D$13K
Owns and owesPt X
$639K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$170K
Total assetsLn 16$647K
LiabilitiesLn 26$8K
PeoplePt VI, VII
2
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a2
IndependentVI 1b1
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$77K
Government grantsLn 1e$74K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$218K
Other incomeLn 4–11$8K
Total revenueLn 12$303K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$170K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$170K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$474K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$941
Total assetsLn 16$647K
LiabilitiesLn 26$8K
Net assetsLn 32$639K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
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 FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$164K$170K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$474K$474K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$21K$941
Total assetsLn 16$662K$647K
LiabilitiesLn 26$43K$8K
Net assetsLn 32$619K$639K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$60K$24K$33K$3K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$72K$29K$39K$4K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$5K$2K$3K$234
Payroll taxesLn 10$13K$5K$7K$671
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$10K$4K$6K$507
Advertising and promotionLn 12$9K$3K$5K$434
Office expensesLn 13$8K$3K$5K$420
Information technologyLn 14$19K$7K$10K$928
OccupancyLn 16$8K$3K$4K$389
TravelLn 17$5K$2K$3K$239
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$30K$30K
InterestLn 20$205$82$113$10
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$20K$8K$11K$1K
InsuranceLn 23$3K$1K$2K$156
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$21K$8K$11K$1K
All other expensesLn 24e$344$138$190$16
Total functional expensesLn 25$282K$131K$139K$13K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $163K$182K−$18K$587K 990 PDF
FY2023 $186K$191K−$5K$605K 990 PDF
FY2022 $200K$229K−$29K$610K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $303K$282K$20K$639K 990 PDF
FY2020 $199K$272K−$73K$619K 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
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $302,754 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $32,286$77,148
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $166,280$217,671
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$7,935
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $198,566$302,754
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $137,612$149,679
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $134,270$132,593
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $271,882$282,272
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$73,316$20,482
Part VI · Governance 1 of 2 board members independent, 4 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body2
VI-1b Independent voting members1
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $302,754 across 6 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $3,219 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$74,200
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$2,948
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$77,148
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $217,671$217,671
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $4,716$4,716
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $225,606 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$302,754
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $282,272 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $24,000 · Management $33,000 · Fundraising $3,000$60,000
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $28,630 · Management $39,366 · Fundraising $3,579$71,575
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,871 · Management $2,572 · Fundraising $234$4,677
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $5,371 · Management $7,385 · Fundraising $671$13,427
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $4,054 · Management $5,575 · Fundraising $507$10,136
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $3,472 · Management $4,774 · Fundraising $434$8,680
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,363 · Management $4,625 · Fundraising $420$8,408
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $7,426 · Management $10,210 · Fundraising $928$18,564
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,109 · Management $4,275 · Fundraising $389$7,773
IX-17 TravelPrograms $1,911 · Management $2,628 · Fundraising $239$4,778
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $29,626$29,626
IX-20 InterestPrograms $82 · Management $113 · Fundraising $10$205
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $8,136 · Management $11,187 · Fundraising $1,017$20,340
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,250 · Management $1,719 · Fundraising $156$3,125
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $8,246 · Management $11,337 · Fundraising $1,031$20,614
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $138 · Management $190 · Fundraising $16$344
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $130,685 · Management $138,956 · Fundraising $12,631$282,272
Part X · Balance sheet $647,474 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $163,901$170,114
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $2,000$2,000
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $21,282$941
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $474,419$474,419
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $0$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $661,602$647,474
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $3,766$3,986
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $38,988$4,158
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $42,754$8,144
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $618,848$639,330
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $661,602$647,474
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $639,330 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$302,754
XI-2 Total expenses$282,272
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$20,482
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$618,848
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$639,330

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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