Iron Light Labs FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Chicago, IL501(c)(3)Civil Rights & AdvocacyEIN 86-1206324Revenue $916K in FY2021

On file with the IRSironlightlabs.org300 S Riverside Plz Ste 1625, 60606-9906 · Chicago, ILTax-exempt since Mar 2022Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Iron Light Labs runs a creative incubator that develops netflix-quality films to persuade audiences and impact culture, experiments with humor to cut through the attention economy, and brings nontraditional partners together to create a community of well-trained advocates for a free society.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
92¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$117K 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $3K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 4 filings
Fine: a surplus in 3 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
92%
of spending
Looks good: 92% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$117K
to officers and key staff · 13% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 13% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Concern: 0.1 months of spending in cash; under 2 weeks.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $290K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$171K
99% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 99% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$916K
Spent
$914K
To programs
92%
Net assets
$2K
By yearFY2021–FY2024
Revenue
$916K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$916K
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.7M
FY2024$701K
Expenses
$914K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$914K
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.9M
FY2024$603K
Net assets
$2K
FY2021
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$2K
FY2022$19K
FY2023−$87K
FY2024$46K

From the FY2021 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2022.

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

Where the money goes

92 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 92% · $840K Management & general 5% · $41K Fundraising 4% · $33K

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; $117K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chairman
$116,968Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Eric Tubbs’s $86K as Chairman is at the 63rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1032 $100K–1M civil rights & advocacy 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

NameFY2022FY2021
Eric Tubbs$86,275$116,968

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

Develops Netflix-quality films and experiments with humor to persuade audiences and impact culture.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $840K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Iron light labs trains individuals in effective marketing strategies and powerful storytelling that its award-winning practitioners have mastered. Its training topics include how to be persuasive, how to build an owned audience, how to measure your organization's impact, and how to market and distribute video content.

$840Kprogram 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 · FY2024
Donors Trust INCFY2024$265K
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$290K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 3 grants · $70K · 2022–2023
The Refugee Alliance LLCFY2022$10,000

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$916K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$886K
Other incomeLn 4–11$30K
Money outPt IX
$914K
Ln 25
Programscol B$840K
Managementcol C$41K
Fundraisingcol D$33K
Owns and owesPt X
$2K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$10K
Total assetsLn 16$173K
LiabilitiesLn 26$171K
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$886K
Other incomeLn 4–11$30K
Total revenueLn 12$916K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$10K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$10K
Other assetsLn 15$3K
Total assetsLn 16$173K
LiabilitiesLn 26$171K
Net assetsLn 32$2K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 60
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$10K
Total assetsLn 16$0$173K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$171K
Net assetsLn 32$0$2K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$2K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$12K$12K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$197K$197K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$57K$57K
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$602K$537K$33K$33K
All other expensesLn 24e$41K$34K$6K$91
Total functional expensesLn 25$914K$840K$41K$33K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $701K$603K$97K$46K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.7M$1.9M−$106K−$87K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.4M$1.4M$17K$19K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $916K$914K$2K$2K 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 FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $916,061 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grants$886,061
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$30,000
I-12 Total revenue$916,061
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$2,250
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefits$0
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expenses$911,707
I-18 Total expenses$913,957
I-19 Revenue less expenses$2,104
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members5
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 $916,061 across 4 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$886,061
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$886,061
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $30,000$30,000
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $30,000 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$916,061
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $913,957 across 7 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $2,250$2,250
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $12,263$12,263
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $196,748$196,748
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $57,350$57,350
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $2,284$2,284
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $537,425 · Management $32,537 · Fundraising $32,537$602,499
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $34,023 · Management $6,449 · Fundraising $91$40,563
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $840,059 · Management $41,270 · Fundraising $32,628$913,957
Part X · Balance sheet $172,661 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearing$9,722
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$160,000
X-15 Other assets$2,939
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $0$172,661
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$77,317
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $0$93,240
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$170,557
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictions$2,104
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $0$2,104
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $0$172,661
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,104 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$916,061
XI-2 Total expenses$913,957
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$2,104
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,104

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

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