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Poets in Need EIN 94-3389583

Poets in Need

EIN  94-3389583 Public foundation / grantmaker Berkeley, CA
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Size
<$100K
What they do
Helps established, published poets facing unexpected financial hardship.
Leadership
Norman Fischer · President
Money in and out
$25K revenue, $47K expenses
Bottom line
90% program efficiency

Helps established, published poets facing unexpected financial hardship. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $25K in revenue, $47K in expenses, and $530K in net assets.Pt I

Grants paid & assets · FY2025
Total revenue
$25K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$47K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$530K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$23K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.90 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.02
Program efficiency
90%
of spending reaches programs▼ -5% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
134.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +115% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-91%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +72% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$25K
FY20250%
Expenses
$47K
FY2025▼ -55%
Total assets
$530K
FY2025▼ -4%
Total liabilities
$0
FY2025
Total revenue
$25K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$47K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$530K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$23K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$530K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B90%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 36
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 46
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $42K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

In 2025 poets in need provided emergency financial aid to 18 contemporary poets. The total amount of these grants was 42,400 the size of the grants depended on the need of the applicant. Poets in need received donations from 122 individuals and organizations.

$42Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CPoets in Need
EINHdr · item D94-3389583
Principal addressHdr · item CBerkeley, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jpoetsinneed.com
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFoundations & Grantmakers (T30)
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 2001

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a6
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b6
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
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
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Jean Day
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Simone White
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Michael Rothenberg’s $6K as President- D is at the 30th percentile of top reported officer pay among 129 <$100K philanthropy & grantmaking 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

NameFY2022FY2021FY2020
Michael Rothenberg$6,000$6,000$6,000

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$23K · 95%
Investment income$1K · 5%
Contributions & grants95%$23K
Investment income5%$1K
Total revenueLn 12$25K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.90 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.02
Program services90%$42K
Management & general8%$4K
Fundraising2%$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$47K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$530K
Total assetsLn 16$530K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$530K
Months of cash on handcomputed134.6

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $530K · Operating expenses/yr $47K
134.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $42K · Total expenses $47K
90%
Management & General
Management & general $4K · Total expenses $47K
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1K · Total expenses $47K
2%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $602 · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $28K
$0.02 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $23K · Total revenue $25K
95%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $25K
—
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $25K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1K · Total revenue $25K
+5%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $47K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $25K · Prior year $25K
Prior-year revenue below floor — showing dollar change
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $47K · FY2025 $25K
-12%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $530K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $25K · Expenses $47K
-91%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $530K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $530K · Total assets $530K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $530K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Norman Fischer · Reported title PRESIDENT · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $47K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) — · Total expenses $47K
—
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 90%——
Overhead ratio 8%——
Fundraising cost ratio 4%——
Revenue growth 0%——
Accounting fee ratio 5%——

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 · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Leaves of Grass FundFY2024$5K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$5K
Grants paid · 6 grants · $347K · 2020–2025
Unitemized GrantFY2025$42,400
Unitemized GrantFY2024$98,800
Unitemized GrantFY2023$65,250
Unitemized GrantFY2022$46,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$58,500
Unitemized GrantFY2020$36,250

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$25K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$25K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$50K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$21K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$122K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$47K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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