Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2017.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
58 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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; $116K paid to officers and key staff.
Pamala Buzick’s $116K as Executive Dirrector is at the 80th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1709 $100K–1M community development 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pamala Buzick | $116,177 | $327,656 | $218,440 | $282,265 | $169,730 | — |
| Emma Reeves | — | — | — | — | $230,802 | $173,894 |
| Alma Harel | — | — | — | — | $62,214 | $97,115 |
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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Fights systemic inequality in media to expand access for underrepresented creators.
Questions for Free the Work
Your first name shows with your question. Free the Work answers here, for everyone.
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Free the work is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to identifying systematic equalities in film, television, advertising and media and finding actionable solutions to expand access for under represented creators.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $137K | $19K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $869K | $30K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.0M | $49K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.0M | $49K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $48K | $48K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $116K | $7K | $76K | $33K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $411K | $195K | $122K | $94K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $32K | $17K | $7K | $8K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $43K | $17K | $18K | $9K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $44K | $44K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $23K | $5K | $18K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $12K | $12K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $125K | $111K | $14K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $5K | $5K | $58 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $14K | $6K | $8K | $31 |
| TravelLn 17 | $14K | $9K | $1K | $4K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $14K | $1K | $13K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $278K | $268K | $9K | $877 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $5K | $2K | $3K | $538 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.2M | $686K | $350K | $149K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $227K | $1.2M | −$957K | $49K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.6M | $2.9M | −$311K | $1.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.6M | $2.6M | $20K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $183K | $263K | −$80K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.4M | $1.9M | −$450K | $789K | 990 PDF |
| FY2019 | $2.4M | $1.6M | $744K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $226,811 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 1 of 1 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $226,811 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,184,191 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $48,962 assets, 7 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $48,962 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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