Whose Knowledge Question Mark EIN 87-1925489 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Whose Knowledge Question Mark FY2023 filing

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Centers marginalized global histories and knowledge online, led by Black and brown women and trans folks. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $2.5M in revenue, $1.5M in expenses, and $1.6M in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Civil Rights & Advocacy
Location
San Diego, CA
Website
www.whoseknowledge.org
Filings
4 on file (2021–2023)
Revenue
$2.5MFY2023
Expenses
$1.5M
Net assets
$1.6M
People
8
Filings
4
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  87-1925489 Public charity (501(c)(3)) San Diego, CA
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/30/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Centers marginalized global histories and knowledge online, led by Black and brown women and trans folks.
Leadership
Adele Mara Godoy Vrana · Co-Found./Dir. · $96K
Money in and out
$2.5M revenue, $1.5M expenses
Bottom line
71% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$2.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $1.1M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.15 Fundraising $0.13
Program efficiency
71%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
4.4mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+42%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.5M
FY2023▲ +180%
Expenses
$1.5M
FY2023▲ +43%
Total assets
$1.6M
FY2023▲ +223%
Total liabilities
$2K
FY2023▲ ×17
Total revenue
$2.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$1.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B71%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 47
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $613K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

Honoring Our Guardians

Activities 2023 Through our Honouring Our Guardians program, the Guardians have been meeting online regularly throughout 2023 as a bilingual group across multiple time zones; English/Brazilian Portuguese (with simultaneous interpretation) with the Guardians from the Yomba Valley, Turtle Island (United States), the Great Ocean States of…

$232Kprogram expense
02

Liberatory Archives and Memory (formerly Whose Digital Archives) - Activities 2023 We welcomed Sally Al-Haq to our team as a co-lead for our program Liberatory Archives and Memory (LAM). LAM is a broad container for reimagining the archive and sites of memory as powerful spaces and acts of resistance, healing, and transformation.

$195Kprogram expense
03

Language Justice (formerly State of the Internets Languages) -Activities 2023 In celebration of the International Mother Language Day, we published the International Sign (IS) translation of the State of the Internet's Languages (STIL) summary report on February 21st, 2023.

$186Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWhose Knowledge Question Mark
EINHdr · item D87-1925489
Principal addressHdr · item CSan Diego, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.whoseknowledge.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCivil Rights & Advocacy (R99)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 2022

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a8
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b7
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$95,850Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Found./Dir.
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Anasuya Sengupta’s $60K as Executive Dir. is at the 7th percentile of top reported officer pay among 796 $1–10M 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022
Adele Mara Godoy Vrana$95,850$94,643
Anasuya Sengupta$59,509

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$2.5M · 99%
Program service revenue$18K · 1%
Contributions & grants99%$2.5M
Program service revenue1%$18K
Total revenueLn 12$2.5M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.15 Fundraising $0.13
Program services71%$1.0M
Management & general15%$223K
Fundraising13%$195K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$539K
Total assetsLn 16$1.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2K
Total net assetsLn 32$1.6M
Months of cash on handcomputed4.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $539K · Operating expenses/yr $1.5M
4.4 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $1.0M · Total expenses $1.5M
71%
Management & General
Management & general $223K · Total expenses $1.5M
15%
Fundraising
Fundraising $195K · Total expenses $1.5M
13%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $65K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.3M
$0.05 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.5M · Total revenue $2.5M
99%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $2.5M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $18K · Total revenue $2.5M
0.7%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $2.5M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $18K · Total expenses $1.5M
1%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.5M · Prior year $906K
+180%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.6M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.5M · Expenses $1.5M
+42%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.6M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.6M · Total assets $1.6M
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.6M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Adele Mara Godoy Vrana · Reported title Co-Found./Dir. · Highest reported compensation $96K · Total expenses $1.5M
7%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $104K · Total expenses $1.5M
7%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 71%
Overhead ratio 15%
Fundraising cost ratio 8%
Revenue growth 180%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0.1%
Accounting fee ratio 0.8%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$216K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$3.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$2.5M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$906K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$601K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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