Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jan 1985.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
55 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
20 people listed on the 990; $671K paid to officers and key staff.
Rick Noguchi’s $179K as President & CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3925 $1–10M 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Fry | — | $84,583 | $216,912 | $190,777 | $174,542 |
| Rick Noguchi | $179,496 | $111,774 | — | — | — |
| Felicia Kelley | $130,577 | $124,549 | $119,390 | $114,221 | $109,583 |
| John Lightfoot | $128,389 | $115,884 | $109,061 | — | — |
| Brett Connor | $124,336 | $108,160 | $104,146 | — | — |
| Sheri Kuehl | — | — | $114,080 | $110,545 | $108,066 |
| Marika Garcia | $108,666 | — | — | — | — |
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
Funds and hosts cultural programs, equity initiatives, and student journalism fellowships to connect Californians, celebrate diverse heritages, and inspire active civic participation.
Questions for California Humanities
Your first name shows with your question. California Humanities answers here, for everyone.
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California humanities supports four core grantmaking programs which include the humanities for all project grants and quick grants, previously listed, as well as the library innovation lab (lil) program, the california documentary project (CDP), and literature & medicine.
Humanities for all is a grant program that supports locally-initiated public humanities projects that respond to the needs and interests of californians, encourage greater public participation in humanities programming, particularly by new AND/OR underserved audiences, and promotes understanding and empathy among all our state's peoples…
California humanities supports periodic initiatives, including equity alignment and informed citizen programs. The equity alignment effort began a few years ago and continues to ensure that we are intentional, informed, and fair in centering equity in all aspects of our work.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.6M | $1.4M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $8K | $4K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.4M | $1.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.5M | $1.1M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $870K | $840K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $174K | $63K | $66K | $45K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.0M | $479K | $405K | $129K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $76K | $35K | $30K | $11K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $60K | $26K | $26K | $8K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $90K | $41K | $36K | $13K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $199K | $199K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $256K | $101K | $128K | $26K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $39K | $39K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $26K | $10K | $13K | $3K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $64K | $328 | $58K | $5K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $166K | $62K | $84K | $20K |
| TravelLn 17 | $108K | $14K | $94K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $19K | $8K | $3K | $7K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $4K | $4K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $13K | $13K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $80K | $1K | $70K | $9K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.4M | $1.9M | $1.3M | $277K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $3.4M | $3.4M | −$30K | $840K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $3.2M | $4.1M | −$944K | $870K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.7M | $3.7M | $56K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $6.9M | $6.1M | $837K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $4.1M | $4.8M | −$643K | $921K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,414,639 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 15 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,414,639 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,444,896 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,943,658 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $839,574 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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