#halfthestory's mission is to empower the next generation's relationship with social media through advocacy, education, and providing access to resources for youth. We believe in digital wellbeing.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
33¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX

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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
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $264K 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
33%
of spending
Concern: 33% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
47 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 47.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $5K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$600
0.4% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 3 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
$210K
Spent
$42K
To programs
33%
Net assets
$171K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$210K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$210K
FY2022$380K
FY2023$827K
FY2024$2.2M
FY2025$2.6M
Expenses
$42K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$42K
FY2022$409K
FY2023$656K
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$2.5M
Net assets
$171K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$171K
FY2022$149K
FY2023$321K
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$1.3M

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

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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 Jun 2018.

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

Where the money goes

33 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 33% · $14K Management & general 38% · $16K Fundraising 28% · $12K

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

4 people listed on the 990.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chairman
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Larissa May’s $200K as Executive Director is at the 86th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023
Larissa May$200,000$109,092$66,085
Lauren Smits$153,700——

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 Halfthestory 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

Empower youth to build healthy social media habits through education and resources.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $14K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Through our advocacy, education, and research programs we have been able to reach a wide audience with our mission of improving digital wellbeing. We have launched Social Media U, an educational program that has reached over 2,500 teens to empower them to develop healthy relationships with technology.

$14Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$5K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $250K · 2025–2025
Girls IncorporatedNY · FY2025$200,000
Georgetown UniversityDC · FY2025$40,000
Girls IncorporatedNY · FY2025$10,000

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$210K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$210K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4K
Money outPt IX
$42K
Ln 25
Programscol B$14K
Managementcol C$16K
Fundraisingcol D$12K
Owns and owesPt X
$171K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$164K
Total assetsLn 16$171K
LiabilitiesLn 26$600
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A0
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$210K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$1K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$30K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4K
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$210K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$164K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$164K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$171K
LiabilitiesLn 26$600
Net assetsLn 32$171K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 58
VolunteersI 63
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$2K$164K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$7K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$2K$171K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$600
Net assetsLn 32$2K$171K
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$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$0
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$0
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$2K$2K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$25K$13K$5K$8K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$500$500$510
Office expensesLn 13$3K$676$2K
Information technologyLn 14$9K$562$7K$1K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$487$409$78
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1K$123$757$199
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$42K$14K$16K$12K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $2.6M$2.5M$80K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.2M$1.3M$929K$1.3M 990 PDF
FY2023 $827K$656K$171K$321K 990 PDF
FY2022 $380K$409K−$29K$149K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $210K$42K$168K$171K 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 $210,056 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $15,400$210,174
I-9 Program service revenue$4,000
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue−$4,118
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $15,400$210,056
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefits$0
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $19,486$41,859
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $19,486$41,859
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$4,086$168,197
Part VI · Governance 3 of 4 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body4
VI-1b Independent voting members3
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 $210,056 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$29,600
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$180,574
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,200
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$210,174
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,000$4,000
VIII-3 Investment income$0
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events−$4,118
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $4,000$210,056
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $41,859 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 recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staff$0
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxes$0
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $1,830$1,830
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $12,836 · Management $4,550 · Fundraising $7,819$25,205
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $500 · Management $500 · Fundraising $510$1,510
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $676 · Fundraising $1,890$2,566
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $562 · Management $7,387 · Fundraising $1,233$9,182
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 TravelManagement $409 · Fundraising $78$487
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 Insurance$0
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $123 · Management $757 · Fundraising $199$1,079
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $14,021 · Management $16,109 · Fundraising $11,729$41,859
Part X · Balance sheet $171,184 assets, 17 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,387$164,153
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$7,031
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,387$171,184
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$600
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $2,387$170,584
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,387$170,584
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,387$171,184
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $170,584 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$210,056
XI-2 Total expenses$41,859
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$168,197
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,387
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$170,584

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

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