· Public charity
Berkeley Film Foundation
The Berkeley FILM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) grant and educational program for independent filmmakers with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
How this is measured
By grant size · FY2020
- Under $10k1 grant · $8k
- $10k–50k3 grants · $49k
- $50k–250k1 grant · $70k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Independent Documentary | $70,000 |
| Kilgust & Cohen LLC | $25,000 |
| Swell Cinema | $12,000 |
| Freedom Bound Center | $12,000 |
| International Documentary | $7,500 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 39% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Closest unfunded matches
The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.
Northwest Film Forum incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences. A nonprofit film and arts center located in Seattle, Northwest Film Forum presents hundreds of films, festivals, community events,…
SF IndieFest presents important independent narrative, documentary, and short films from around the world.
Docs in progress is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which gives individuals the tools to tell stories through documentary film to educate, inspire, and transform the way people view their world.
Field of Vision is a filmmaker and artist driven organization that commissions, creates and supports original nonfiction films about developing and ongoing stories around the globe. Field of Vision supports work that uses innovative and…
A national non-profit media arts organization, american documentary strives to make essential documentaries accessible as a catalyst for public discourse. we collaborate with passionate filmmakers to amplify their voices, nuture the…
Recognizing the power of film to inspire, Working Films positions documentaries to increase civic engagement and shift culture at the local, state, and national level.
The Jewish Film Institute champions bold films and filmmakers that expand and evolve the Jewish story for audiences everywhere. Through its exhibition and artist development programs, JFI celebrates the spirit of film, inquiry,…
Reel Earth Films promotes wildlife conservation by creating films that nurture the human connection to nature, spread awareness about life-threatening challenges facing species worldwide, and advance environmental activism and research.
To present independent films from around the world to deepen audiences' understanding of culture, tolerance, and common humanity.
Advocate for gender equality in the film industry.
How this is measured
8 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.
Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.
How this is measured
Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 8 of the 13 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.
Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding
A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.
- Who funds THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC ↗
- Who funds ARC OF JUSTICE PRODUCTIONS INC ↗
- Who funds THE FREEDOM BOUND CENTER ↗
- Who funds SWELL FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds WILD PROJECTS ↗
- Who funds San Francisco Film Society ↗
- Who funds ROSIE THE RIVETER TRUST ↗
- Who funds INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC ↗
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Berkeley Film Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Berkeley Film Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- The Center for Independent Documentary Inc: 6% of income from government
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Berkeley Film Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Berkeley Film Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.
Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.
Play a game based on Berkeley Film’s filings →