Queer Asterisk empowers and nurtures the diverse ways of being that queer people embody by providing accessible counseling, education and community programs that uplift LGBTQ lives.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$165K 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
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
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $113K a year · 8% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
Looks good: 86% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$165K
to officers and key staff · 15% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 15% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $332K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$183K
40% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 40% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
4
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 4 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.3M
+102% vs prior year
Spent
$1.1M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$269K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.3M
FY2021▲ +102%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$624K
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$1.5M
FY2025$1.7M
Expenses
$1.1M
FY2021▲ +119%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$511K
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.5M
FY2025$1.5M
Net assets
$269K
FY2021▲ +112%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$127K
FY2021$269K
FY2022$308K
FY2023$528K
FY2024$488K
FY2025$694K

From the FY2021 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

990 PDF Claim
You’re viewing the FY2021 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 Aug 2017.

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

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $967K Management & general 10% · $108K Fundraising 4% · $44K

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

6 people listed on the 990; $165K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Exec Dir/Co-Founder
$110,100Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Founder
$55,350Pt VII · Sec A
Board Co-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Co-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sorin Thomas’s $101K as Executive Dir. is at the 27th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1683 $1–10M mental health 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
Sorin Thomas$100,580$98,804$99,206$100,403$110,100$75,808
Brett Adamek$70,590$73,576$61,617$45,975$55,350$47,029

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 Queer Asterisk 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 queer-informed counseling, community programs, and education for queer and trans well-being.

Questions for Queer Asterisk

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $967K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Counseling Services

Queer Asterisk served over 800 clients, ages 4 to 70 with therapy/mental health services. Queer Asterisk provided 15,400 hours of therapy.

$906Kprogram expense
02

Community Programs

Our programs are developed to create inclusive, transformative spaces for queer and trans folks to gather. There are 6 programs that meet on a weekly or biweekly basis.

$41Kprogram expense
03

Education

Our educational team trains professionals to be equipped to create environments of physical and emotional safety for queer and transgender people. In 2021 Queer Asterisk performed approximately 60 hours of trainings.

$21Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$332K

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$947K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$314K
Investment incomeLn 3$526
Money outPt IX
$1.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$967K
Managementcol C$108K
Fundraisingcol D$44K
Owns and owesPt X
$269K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$434K
Total assetsLn 16$452K
LiabilitiesLn 26$183K
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b4
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$314K
Government grantsLn 1e$4K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$27K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$947K
Investment incomeLn 3$526
Total revenueLn 12$1.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$84K
SavingsLn 2$350K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$434K
Total assetsLn 16$452K
LiabilitiesLn 26$183K
Net assetsLn 32$269K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
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 FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$211K$434K
Total assetsLn 16$222K$452K
LiabilitiesLn 26$95K$183K
Net assetsLn 32$127K$269K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$165K$117K$29K$20K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0$0$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$636K$594K$33K$8K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$19K$17K$1K$682
Other employee benefitsLn 9$48K$43K$4K$2K
Payroll taxesLn 10$49K$43K$4K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$7K$4K$2K$499
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$1K$587$136
Office expensesLn 13$58$35$19$4
OccupancyLn 16$38K$23K$12K$3K
InsuranceLn 23$3K$2K$963$222
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$134K$112K$18K$4K
All other expensesLn 24e$17K$11K$3K$4K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.1M$967K$108K$44K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.7M$1.5M$207K$694K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.5M$1.5M−$40K$488K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.5M$1.3M$220K$528K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.4M$1.4M$39K$308K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $1.3M$1.1M$142K$269K 990 PDF
FY2020 $624K$511K$113K$127K 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 FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,261,196 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $306,033$313,653
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $317,814$947,017
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $145$526
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $623,992$1,261,196
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $376,231$918,008
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $134,891$201,293
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $511,122$1,119,301
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $112,870$141,895
Part VI · Governance 4 of 4 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body4
VI-1b Independent voting members4
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 $1,261,196 across 7 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $40 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$27,302
VIII-1e Government grants$4,032
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$282,319
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$313,653
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$946,977
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$526
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $947,543 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$1,261,196
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,119,301 across 13 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $116,564 · Management $28,731 · Fundraising $20,153$165,448
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $594,447 · Management $33,376 · Fundraising $8,190$636,013
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $17,108 · Management $1,494 · Fundraising $682$19,284
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $42,833 · Management $3,741 · Fundraising $1,708$48,282
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $43,453 · Management $3,796 · Fundraising $1,732$48,981
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $3,996 · Management $2,165 · Fundraising $499$6,660
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,085 · Management $587 · Fundraising $136$1,808
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $35 · Management $19 · Fundraising $4$58
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $23,074 · Management $12,498 · Fundraising $2,884$38,456
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,778 · Management $963 · Fundraising $222$2,963
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $111,893 · Management $18,045 · Fundraising $4,164$134,102
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $10,937 · Management $2,533 · Fundraising $3,776$17,246
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $967,203 · Management $107,948 · Fundraising $44,150$1,119,301
Part X · Balance sheet $452,035 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $113,332$84,424
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $97,785$350,047
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $6,482$12,214
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $4,143$5,350
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $221,742$452,035
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $94,662$105,249
X-19 Deferred revenue$77,813
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $94,662$183,062
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $127,080$268,973
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $127,080$268,973
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $221,742$452,035
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $268,973 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,261,196
XI-2 Total expenses$1,119,301
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$141,895
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$127,080
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$268,973

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

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