Active Cultures FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Los Angeles, CA501(c)(3)Since 2017Arts & CultureEIN 82-5384806

Active cultures is a public arts nonprofit in los angeles that explores the intersection of art, food, and ecologies through artist-led projects and programs.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$96K 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

FY2023 · 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 $14K a year · 5% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
70%
of spending
Fine: 70% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$96K
to officers and key staff · 32% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 32% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Worth a look: 0.6 months of spending in cash; under 1.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $50K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$15K
22% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 22% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$319K
+2% vs prior year
Spent
$305K
To programs
70%
Net assets
$53K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$319K
FY2023▲ +2%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$218K
FY2022$314K
FY2023$319K
FY2024$250K
FY2025$348K
Expenses
$305K
FY2023▼ -13%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$187K
FY2022$351K
FY2023$305K
FY2024$243K
FY2025$295K
Net assets
$53K
FY2023▲ +35%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$76K
FY2022$39K
FY2023$53K
FY2024$50K
FY2025$104K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 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 Mar 2019.

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

Where the money goes

70 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 70% · $213K Management & general 8% · $25K Fundraising 22% · $67K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $96K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Director
$96,076Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Laura Fried’s $91K as Executive Director is at the 83rd 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Laura Fried$90,750$74,250$96,076——
Laura Fried———$91,108$47,250

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 Active Cultures 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 food programs and cultural events, bringing people together through art and contemporary culture.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Active Cultures claims this page.

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1 program service account for $213K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

Active cultures is a public arts organization in los angeles exploring the confluence of food and art through public projects, programs, and publishing. Our mission is to nourish interdisciplinary and experimental practice, inspire curiosity, and feed empathy through bold, artist-led, collective experiences and generative conversations.

$213Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2024
See all 5 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$319K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$310K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$9K
Money outPt IX
$305K
Ln 25
Programscol B$213K
Managementcol C$25K
Fundraisingcol D$67K
Owns and owesPt X
$53K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$15K
Total assetsLn 16$69K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$310K
Government grantsLn 1e$105K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$30K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$9K
Total revenueLn 12$319K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$15K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$15K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$645
Total assetsLn 16$69K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
Net assetsLn 32$53K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 54
VolunteersI 612
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$40K$15K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0$0
Total assetsLn 16$53K$69K
LiabilitiesLn 26$13K$15K
Net assetsLn 32$39K$53K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$96K$38K$19K$38K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$79K$79K
Payroll taxesLn 10$15K$10K$2K$3K
Legal feesLn 11b$300$201$33$66
Accounting feesLn 11c$7K$4K$716$1K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$31K$28K$894$2K
Office expensesLn 13$13K$9K$1K$3K
Information technologyLn 14$16K$14K$455$910
OccupancyLn 16$4K$3K$450$899
TravelLn 17$6K$3K$2$3K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$13K$13K
InterestLn 20$2K$2K$269$538
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$900$604$99$197
InsuranceLn 23$675$453$74$148
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$21K$21K$0$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$305K$213K$25K$67K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $348K$295K$53K$104K 990 PDF
FY2024 $250K$243K$7K$50K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $319K$305K$14K$53K 990 PDF
FY2022 $314K$351K−$37K$39K 990 PDF
FY2021 $218K$187K$32K$76K 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 FY2023 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $318,730 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1b Membership dues$39,500
VIII-1c Fundraising events$30,033
VIII-1e Government grants$105,359
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$134,834
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$309,726
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $9,004$9,004
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $9,004 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$318,730
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $304,734 across 15 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $38,430 · Management $19,216 · Fundraising $38,430$96,076
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $79,200$79,200
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $9,740 · Management $1,591 · Fundraising $3,182$14,513
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $201 · Management $33 · Fundraising $66$300
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $4,380 · Management $716 · Fundraising $1,431$6,527
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $28,008 · Management $894 · Fundraising $1,790$30,692
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $9,045 · Management $1,422 · Fundraising $2,955$13,422
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $14,295 · Management $455 · Fundraising $910$15,660
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $2,753 · Management $450 · Fundraising $899$4,102
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,554 · Management $2 · Fundraising $3,012$5,568
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsFundraising $13,354$13,354
IX-20 InterestPrograms $1,647 · Management $269 · Fundraising $538$2,454
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $604 · Management $99 · Fundraising $197$900
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $453 · Management $74 · Fundraising $148$675
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $21,291 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$21,291
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $212,601 · Management $25,221 · Fundraising $66,912$304,734
Part X · Balance sheet $68,802 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $40,067$15,366
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $10,000$52,791
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $0$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1,544$645
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $52,514$68,802
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,389$3,757
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $11,649$11,573
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $13,038$15,330
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $39,476$53,472
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $52,514$68,802
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $53,472 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$318,730
XI-2 Total expenses$304,734
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$13,996
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$39,476
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$53,472

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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