Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1947.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
75 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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; $211K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Ara Guzelimian’s $125K as Artistic and Executive Dir is at the 51st 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James S Bennett | — | — | — | — | — | $125,002 |
| Ara Guzelimian | $125,000 | $108,335 | $100,001 | $100,001 | $56,001 | — |
| Gina Gutierrez | $120,000 | $114,564 | $110,689 | $110,001 | $105,001 | $105,001 |
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 Ojai Festivals Ltd 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
Nurtures artists and composers, fostering musical innovation and international prominence for decades.
Questions for Ojai Festivals Ltd
Your first name shows with your question. Ojai Festivals Ltd answers here, for everyone.
During the 2023 season, the 77TH festival, june 6 to 11, 2023, was led by pulitzer prize winning composer and grammy winning musician rhiannon giddens as music director. Together with festival artistic and executive director ara guzelimian, giddens' programs touched on many of her interests across musical genres, from baroque music to…
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2022. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 95-2122508) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $1.5M | $1.5M | $1.5M | $1.5M | $1.5M |
| AddedLn 1b | $22K | ||||
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $68K | $231K | $70K | $70K |
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $300K | $288K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $1.5M | $1.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $128K | $124K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.9M | $3.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $604K | $202K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.3M | $2.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $100K | $65K | $15K | $20K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $382K | $184K | $109K | $89K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $16K | $8K | $4K | $3K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $39K | $18K | $13K | $8K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $17K | $17K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $13K | $13K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $748K | $682K | $19K | $47K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $45K | $24K | $14K | $7K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $252K | $224K | $143 | $29K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $17K | $9K | $4K | $4K |
| TravelLn 17 | $139K | $109K | $7K | $24K |
| InterestLn 20 | $10K | $10K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $20K | $10K | $5K | $5K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $18K | $13K | $4K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $106K | $86K | $19K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.9M | $1.4M | $253K | $236K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 10, 2026 | $2.3M | $2.1M | $174K | $3.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jul 14, 2025 | $2.4M | $2.3M | $105K | $3.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Jul 12, 2024 | $2.4M | $1.9M | $455K | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 25, 2023 | $2.9M | $2.6M | $309K | $2.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jul 13, 2022 | $1.8M | $1.0M | $734K | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Jun 18, 2021 | $1.5M | $1.2M | $340K | $1.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990
Part I · Summary $2,376,892 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 20 of 20 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,376,892 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,922,026 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,018,883 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,817,091 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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