Playwrights Foundation INC

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Our mission is to support and empower playwrights' artistic growth and careers and champion their voices on a national level.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
74¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 160 volunteers and 71 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $36K a year · 11% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
74%
of spending
Fine: 74% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$114K
to officers and key staff · 38% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 38% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.5 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
9
named funders · $116K
Looks good: 9 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$39K
16% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 16% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
10
of 10 voting members
Looks good: 10 of 10 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$410K
+83% vs prior year
Spent
$302K
To programs
74%
Net assets
$202K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$410K
FY2024▲ +83%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$330K
FY2021$396K
FY2022$368K
FY2023$224K
FY2024$410K
Expenses
$302K
FY2024▲ +18%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$278K
FY2021$367K
FY2022$343K
FY2023$257K
FY2024$302K
Net assets
$202K
FY2024▲ +114%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$85K
FY2021$102K
FY2022$127K
FY2023$94K
FY2024$202K

From the FY2024 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 1979.

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

Where the money goes

74 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 74% · $224K Management & general 19% · $59K Fundraising 6% · $19K

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

Something off? Claim to add context

Who runs it and what they're paid

22 people listed on the 990; $114K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Exec Artisti
$57,051Pt VII · Sec A
Exec Artisti
$57,051Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Jessica Bird Beza’s $57K as Exec Artisti is at the 51st 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jessica Bird Beza$57,051$68,289$71,789$66,300$65,000

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.

See Playwrights Foundation INC executive salaries →

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

Empowers playwrights' careers and champions their voices nationwide.

Questions for Playwrights Foundation INC

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4 programs · $372K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The biennial bay area playwrights festival is PF'S longest running program since 1976. Bapf offers writers an intensive laboratory environment for development of a new work over the course of a 12-MONTH program culminating in a hybrid festival with multiple stages of creative development including three development phases: 3 day artist…

$128Kprogram expense
02

The biennial bay area playwrights festival is PF'S longest running program since 1976. Bapf offers writers an intensive laboratory environment for development of a new work over the course of a 12-MONTH program culminating in a hybrid festival with multiple stages of creative development including three development phases: 3 day artist…

$127Kprogram expense
03

The resident playwrights program provides an array of support and resources for a select number of bay area playwrights in a multi-year residency as they individually pursue their professional playwriting careers.

$58Kprogram expense
04

The resident playwrights program provides an array of support and resources for a select number of bay area playwrights in a multi-year residency as they individually pursue their professional playwriting careers.

$58Kprogram 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
See all 9 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$410K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$392K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$15K
Other incomeLn 4–11$3K
Money outPt IX
$302K
Ln 25
Programscol B$224K
Managementcol C$59K
Fundraisingcol D$19K
Owns and owesPt X
$202K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$37K
Total assetsLn 16$240K
LiabilitiesLn 26$39K
PeoplePt VI, VII
22
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a10
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$392K
Government grantsLn 1e$46K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$15K
Other incomeLn 4–11$3K
Total revenueLn 12$410K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$37K
Total assetsLn 16$240K
LiabilitiesLn 26$39K
Net assetsLn 32$202K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 571
VolunteersI 6160
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14Yes

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 $410K$302K$107K$202K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 2, 2024 $224K$257K−$33K$94K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 $368K$343K$25K$127K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 8, 2022 $396K$367K$29K$102K 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 10, 2021 $330K$278K$52K$85K 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (1 part)
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body10
VI-1b Independent voting members10
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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