Through its projects and programs, The Long Now Foundation works to foster long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 20 volunteers and 31 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $969K a year · 21% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 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
$1.0M
to officers and key staff · 24% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 24% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
27 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 27.4 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
20
named funders · $504K
Looks good: 20 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$8.5M
42% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 42% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$4.2M
-11% vs prior year
Spent
$4.2M
To programs
73%
Net assets
$11.9M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$4.2M
FY2024▼ -11%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$3.0M
FY2021$4.1M
FY2022$7.2M
FY2023$4.8M
FY2024$4.2M
Expenses
$4.2M
FY2024▼ -14%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.6M
FY2021$3.0M
FY2022$3.9M
FY2023$4.9M
FY2024$4.2M
Net assets
$11.9M
FY2024▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$6.7M
FY2021$8.4M
FY2022$10.5M
FY2023$11.5M
FY2024$11.9M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 1998.

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% · $3.0M Management & general 21% · $874K Fundraising 7% · $272K

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

24 people listed on the 990; $1.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$275,146Pt VII · Sec A
Project Director
$250,030Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Comm
$222,023Pt VII · Sec A
Dir of Programs
$135,072Pt VII · Sec A
IT Director
$112,261Pt VII · Sec A
President
$6,651Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Rebecca Lendl’s $275K as Executive Dir. is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Rebecca Lendl$275,146$250,470———
Alexander Rose—$252,912$213,483$223,597$209,518
Nicholas Paul$250,030————
Nicholas P Brysiewicz—$246,829$165,600$155,629$124,480
James Home$222,023$178,611———
Laura Welcher——$100,858$165,325$131,186
Mikko Jarvenpaa—$135,394———
Danielle Engelman$135,072—$116,509$114,285$108,705

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 Long Now Foundation 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

Fosters long-term thinking and responsibility for the next 10,000 years.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $2.3M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The Interval

An award winning bar, cafe and event space in san francisco with 30,000 visitors annualy. It features craft cocktails, artisan coffee and tea, a bottle keep, a chalk board-drawing robot, an art installation by brian eno, a library that stretches from floor to ceiling, and exhibits on long term thinking that inspire curiosity and wonder.

$1.2Mprogram expense
02

Programs

Long Now Talks, a lecture series featuring leading thinkers who share ideas with live audiences in San Francisco and millions worldwide; Centuries of the Bristlecone, an artwork by philosopher and conceptual artist Jonathon Keats commissioned by the Nevada Museum of Art in partnership with Long Now; Pace Layers, our annual journal of…

$601Kprogram expense
03

Communications

Marketing, promotion and distribution of content and learnings from Long Nows programs, projects, and public resources, including our video and podcast episodes, and print and digital publishing, and long term digital archive.

$466Kprogram expense

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
See all 20 funders →
Grants paid · 3 grants · $156K · 2021–2023
Rufus CorporationFY2023$125,450
Prelinger Archives LLCFY2021$19,001
Ignite Talks Pbc INCFY2021$11,250

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$4.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$1.4M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$647K
Money outPt IX
$4.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$3.0M
Managementcol C$874K
Fundraisingcol D$272K
Owns and owesPt X
$11.9M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$9.5M
Total assetsLn 16$20.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$8.5M
PeoplePt VI, VII
24
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.6M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$234K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$647K
Investment incomeLn 3$1.4M
Other incomeLn 4–11$604K
Gains on assetsLn 7$740K
Total revenueLn 12$4.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$271K
SavingsLn 2$9.3M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$9.5M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$449K
Other assetsLn 15$2.1M
Total assetsLn 16$20.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$8.5M
Net assetsLn 32$11.9M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 531
VolunteersI 620
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$11.7M$9.5M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$4.6M$7.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$525K$449K
Total assetsLn 16$20.6M$20.5M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9.1M$8.5M
Net assetsLn 32$11.5M$11.9M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$79K$79K
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.0M$733K$192K$76K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.2M$855K$224K$89K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$73K$32K$32K$9K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$149K$127K$16K$7K
Payroll taxesLn 10$175K$139K$23K$13K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$15K$1K$14K
Accounting feesLn 11c$119K$7K$112K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$147K$37K$109K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0
Office expensesLn 13$0
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$105K$60K$46K
TravelLn 17$98K$93K$4K$1K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$52K$51K$722
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$75K$71K$4K
InsuranceLn 23$42K$5K$37K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$706K$612K$49K$45K
All other expensesLn 24e$173K$131K$11K$32K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.2M$3.0M$874K$272K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $4.2M$4.2M$46K$11.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.8M$4.9M−$89K$11.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $7.2M$3.9M$3.4M$10.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.1M$3.0M$1.2M$8.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $3.0M$2.6M$367K$6.7M 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 F · Foreign M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,223,399 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $2,756,804$1,586,638
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $1,014,181$646,794
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $333,376$1,386,343
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $660,094$603,624
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $4,764,455$4,223,399
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $208,735$79,000
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $2,909,088$2,564,969
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,735,352$1,533,640
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $4,853,175$4,177,609
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$88,720$45,790
Part VI · Governance 13 of 14 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members13
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,223,399 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $603,624 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$678,100
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$908,538
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$233,623
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,586,638
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $646,794$646,794
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $646,089$646,089
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $740,254$740,254
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,387,048 · Excluded from tax $1,249,713$4,223,399
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $4,177,609 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $79,000$79,000
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $733,040 · Management $192,083 · Fundraising $76,059$1,001,182
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $854,690 · Management $223,970 · Fundraising $88,682$1,167,342
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $31,710 · Management $32,331 · Fundraising $8,700$72,741
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $126,631 · Management $15,931 · Fundraising $6,594$149,156
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $138,960 · Management $22,611 · Fundraising $12,977$174,548
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $1,018 · Management $14,285$15,303
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $6,605 · Management $112,387$118,992
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $37,294 · Management $109,231$146,525
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$0
IX-13 Office expenses$0
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $59,759 · Management $45,727$105,486
IX-17 TravelPrograms $93,011 · Management $3,802 · Fundraising $1,398$98,211
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $51,263 · Fundraising $722$51,985
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $71,144 · Management $4,256$75,400
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $5,182 · Management $36,751$41,933
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $611,926 · Management $49,369 · Fundraising $45,077$706,372
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $130,767 · Management $10,914 · Fundraising $31,752$173,433
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $3,032,000 · Management $873,648 · Fundraising $271,961$4,177,609
Part X · Balance sheet $20,463,072 assets, 20 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $265,997$271,358
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $11,444,936$9,253,886
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $500,000$1,000,000
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $544,406$290,350
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $66,497$61,754
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $28,003$41,396
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $524,756$449,355
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $4,624,030$6,953,301
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $2,577,623$2,141,672
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $20,576,248$20,463,072
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $173,419$72,756
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $8,895,739$8,474,370
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $9,118,956$8,547,126
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $8,175,249$8,599,872
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $3,282,043$3,316,074
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $11,457,292$11,915,946
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $20,576,248$20,463,072
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $11,915,946 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,223,399
XI-2 Total expenses$4,177,609
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$45,790
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$11,457,292
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$233,025
XI-7 Investment expenses−$35,561
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$215,400
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$11,915,946

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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