POTIONS & PIXELS is a nonprofit organization that creates and utilizes games art and technology for social impact.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
Run by 30 volunteers and 1 employee.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990-EZIndependent: 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-EZ
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 3
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $10K a year · 4% of revenue · last 3 filings
Fine: a surplus in 2 of the last 3 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 3 filings
Pay to officers and key staff
$57K
to officers and key staff
No data yet: the filing does not give pay as a share of spending.
Pt VII · Sec A
Named funders
1
named funder · $78K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2K
total owed
No data yet: the filing does not give total assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$84K
-61% vs prior year
Net assets
$27K
By yearFY2022–FY2025
Revenue
$84K
FY2025▼ -61%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2022$239K
FY2023$271K
FY2024$215K
FY2025$84K
Expenses
—
FY2025
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2022$226K
FY2023$248K
FY2024$220K
FY2025Not on file
Net assets
$27K
FY2025▼ -64%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2022$59K
FY2023$81K
FY2024$76K
FY2025$27K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

990 PDF Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2021.

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

Who runs it and what they're paid

5 people listed on the 990-EZ; $57K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$57,135Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice-President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Michael Zytkow’s $57K as Executive Director is at the 94th percentile of top reported officer pay among 290 <$100K employment 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
Michael Zytkow$57,135$105,000$105,000$105,000

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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Programs and updates

Uses games, art, and technology to create positive social change.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $160K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Community Engagement & Game Library

POTIONS & PIXELS continued offering accessible public gaming programs throughout 2024 to build community and support social connection. The organization collaborated with Phoenix Down RPG to host three Name That Tune events a public video game trivia contest where participants identified video game music performed live by an orchestral…

$75Kprogram expense
02

Game App & Art Development

In 2024 POTIONS & PIXELS continued developing new educational and creative game projects that support learning and community engagement. The organization dedicated significant time to designing an educational game intended to help the public better understand the social and economic challenges individuals face as they age.

$52Kprogram expense
03

Growing the Game Industry

2024 marked the launch of the organizations Growing the Game Industry initiative to support local creators and strengthen Charlottes game industry ecosystem. POTIONS & PIXELS launched two recurring monthly events: the Game Industry Gathering a networking and professional community event and PLAYTEST a collaborative program where creators…

$34Kprogram 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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$78K

By the numbers

The FY2025 990-EZ, line by line.

1The main four
Money in
$84K
Other income$84K
Owns and owes
$27K
net assets
Liabilities$2K
People
5
listed
Paid1
2In more detail
Revenue in detail
Other income$84K
Total revenue$84K
Assets in detailEnd of year
Liabilities$2K
Net assets$27K
Operations
Employees1
Volunteers30
Fiscal year endsDecember

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $84K$27K 990 PDF
FY2024 $215K$220K−$5K$76K 990 PDF
FY2023 $271K$248K$23K$81K 990 PDF
FY2022 $239K$226K$13K$59K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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