Kovno Communications INC

Tax-deductible

Berkeley, CA501(c)(3)Since 1997Arts & CultureEIN 94-3260911

Production and distribution of educational film and video

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
96¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$53K 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

FY2025 · 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
FY2025
latest Form 990
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 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $34K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
96%
of spending
Looks good: 96% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$53K
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 53% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Concern: 0.3 months of spending in cash; under 2 weeks.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
8
named funders · $248K
Looks good: 8 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$82K
143% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 143% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
4
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 4 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$736K
-13% vs prior year
Spent
$778K
To programs
96%
Net assets
−$25K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$736K
FY2025▼ -13%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$598K
FY2021$360K
FY2022$605K
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$842K
FY2025$736K
Expenses
$778K
FY2025▼ -4%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$729K
FY2021$415K
FY2022$635K
FY2023$1.0M
FY2024$810K
FY2025$778K
Net assets
−$25K
FY2025▼ -243%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$49K
FY2021−$5K
FY2022−$35K
FY2023−$15K
FY2024$17K
FY2025−$25K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 1997.

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

Where the money goes

96 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 96% · $747K Management & general 4% · $31K

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

Who runs it and what they're paid

4 people listed on the 990; $53K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$53,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Rick Goldsmith’s $53K as President is at the 47th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Rick Goldsmith$53,000$45,000$58,000$56,500$55,000$75,000

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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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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Creates and shares educational films and videos.

Provided by the organization

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3 program services account for $746K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

Oversight of 7 film projects in production and/or distribution, acting as fiscal sponsor.

$633Kprogram expense
02

Production and Distribution of "stripped for Parts

American Journalism on the Brink"

$112Kprogram expense
03

Distribution of 4 films previously produced by Rick Goldsmith

$1Kprogram expense

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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 8 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$736K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$712K
Other incomeLn 4–11$21K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Money outPt IX
$778K
Ln 25
Programscol B$747K
Managementcol C$31K
Owns and owesPt X
−$25K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$19K
Total assetsLn 16$57K
LiabilitiesLn 26$82K
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b4
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$712K
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Other incomeLn 4–11$21K
Total revenueLn 12$736K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$19K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$19K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$39K
Total assetsLn 16$57K
LiabilitiesLn 26$82K
Net assetsLn 32−$25K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$44K$19K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$55K$39K
Total assetsLn 16$99K$57K
LiabilitiesLn 26$82K$82K
Net assetsLn 32$17K−$25K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$53K$24K$29K$0
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$670K$670K$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0$0$0$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0$0$0$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0$0$0$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$0$0$0$0
Management feesLn 11a$0$0$0$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0$0$0$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$0$0$0$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0$0$0$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0$0$0$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$0$0$0$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0$0$0$0
Office expensesLn 13$846$0$846$0
Information technologyLn 14$0$0$0$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0$0$0$0
OccupancyLn 16$0$0$0$0
TravelLn 17$0$0$0$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0$0$0$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0$0$0$0
InterestLn 20$0$0$0$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0$0$0$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0$0$0$0
InsuranceLn 23$809$0$809$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$53K$53K$120$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$778K$747K$31K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $736K$778K−$42K−$25K 990 PDF
FY2024 $842K$810K$32K$17K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.1M$1.0M$20K−$15K 990 PDF
FY2022 $605K$635K−$29K−$35K 990 PDF
FY2021 $360K$415K−$54K−$5K 990 PDF
FY2020 $598K$729K−$131K$49K 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 FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $736,227 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $21,462 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$711,613
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$711,613
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $3,152 · Excluded from tax $0$3,152
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $21,462 · Unrelated business $3,152 · Excluded from tax $0$736,227
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $777,887 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $0$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $0$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $0$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $24,000 · Management $29,000 · Fundraising $0$53,000
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $670,113 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$670,113
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $0$0
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $0 · Management $846 · Fundraising $0$846
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-17 TravelPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officialsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-20 InterestPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliatesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $0 · Management $809 · Fundraising $0$809
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $52,999 · Management $120 · Fundraising $0$53,119
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $747,112 · Management $30,775 · Fundraising $0$777,887
Part X · Balance sheet $57,469 assets, 7 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $43,723$18,912
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $55,406$38,557
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $99,129$57,469
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $82,000$82,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $82,000$82,000
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $17,129−$24,531
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $99,129$57,469
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$24,531 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$736,227
XI-2 Total expenses$777,887
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$41,660
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$17,129
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year−$24,531

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

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