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California · Nonprofit

Cinequest Inc

Cinequest Inc (California) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,664,681 to it, the largest being Adobe Foundation ($600,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$1.2M
Funders on record
18
Grants received
$2.7M
Net assets
$415k
12/18 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 38%
01What it does

What Cinequest Inc does

Mission

Cinequest fuses innovation with the arts to empower creators, youth, and audiences through film, creativity, and technologyconnecting people, stories, and ideas to inspire and transform lives.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.

Picture the Possibilities (PTP) is Cinequest's global youth program empowering underserved young people to create films that express their visions and voices. Through hands-on workshops, mentorship, and the "7 Powers of Creating" curriculum, participants learn every stage of filmmakingfrom idea development to production and public presentation. In 2024, PTP engaged youth through a combination of in-person city sessions and online programs, providing mentorship from professional filmmakers and exposure to industry-standard tools. Participants will often share their work at Cinequest, gaining confidence, creative skills, and a platform to inspire others. By giving youth the opportunity to tell their own stories, PTP advances Cinequest's mission of empowerment through creativityhelping young people realize that they have the power to create their future and positively impact their communities.

Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).

  1. The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is Cinequest's flagship program, uniting artists, innovators, and audiences through film, storytelling, and technology. The 2024 festival presented over 250 films from 50 countries and hosted more than 30,000 in-person attendees in downtown San Jose, plus tens of thousands more online via CINEJOY. The event featured world and U.S. premieres, forums, and celebrations connecting creators and audiences with new ideas and technologies.Cinequest's programs directly supported hundreds of filmmakers and writers by providing exhibition, promotion, and networking opportunities that resulted in distribution deals and industry recognition. The festival also boosted the local economy by generating more than $9 million in revenue for downtown San Jose's restaurants, hotels, and businesses.Through the combination of film, creativity, and innovation, Cinequest's annual festival continues to inspire audiences and empower artistsadvancing its charitable mission to connect people and transform lives through the arts.The CINEJOY Virtual Festival, created by Cinequest during the pandemic, continues to expand global access to art, storytelling, and innovation.…

    $1,679,635 spent$755,519 earned by the program
    98% of program spending
  2. Picture the Possibilities (PTP) is Cinequest's global youth program empowering underserved young people to create films that express their visions and voices. Through hands-on workshops, mentorship, and the "7 Powers of Creating" curriculum, participants learn every stage of filmmakingfrom idea development to production and public presentation.In 2024, PTP engaged youth through a combination of in-person city sessions and online programs, providing mentorship from professional filmmakers and exposure to industry-standard tools. Participants will often share their work at Cinequest, gaining confidence, creative skills, and a platform to inspire others.By giving youth the opportunity to tell their own stories, PTP advances Cinequest's mission of empowerment through creativityhelping young people realize that they have the power to create their future and positively impact their communities.

    $26,994 spent
    2% of program spending
  3. Other program services, not described on the e-filed return.

    $10,746 spent
    1% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,717,375.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($1.1M) Expenses 100 ($1.3M) Net assets 100 ($450k)2018 Revenue 113 ($1.3M) Expenses 111 ($1.4M) Net assets 70 ($314k)2019 Revenue 145 ($1.7M) Expenses 121 ($1.6M) Net assets 92 ($416k)2020 Revenue 136 ($1.6M) Expenses 118 ($1.5M) Net assets 97 ($437k)2021 Revenue 124 ($1.4M) Expenses 94 ($1.2M) Net assets 141 ($637k)2022 Revenue 93 ($1.1M) Expenses 109 ($1.4M) Net assets 65 ($292k)2023 Revenue 236 ($2.7M) Expenses 152 ($2.0M) Net assets 269 ($1.2M)2024 Revenue 108 ($1.2M) Expenses 157 ($2.0M) Net assets 92 ($415k)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (108)Expenses (157)Net assets (92)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $342k to $1.3M (+269%).

$475k
$349k
$475k
$593k
$707k
$342k
$1.3M
$485k
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2018 35% · 2019 18% · 2020 10% · 2021 29% · 2022 26% · 2023 8% · 2024 16%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

39% of Cinequest Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (72% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 636 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

−$148k
’17
−$136k
’18
$101k
’19
$22k
’20
$199k
’21
−$344k
’22
$744k
’23
−$796k
’24
1.5
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Halfdan Hussey

CEO/Co-Founder

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023 filings.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed77777777
Joined·+0+0+0+0+0+2+0
No longer listed·0000020
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $90k → $760k.

6 of 18 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 41% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of Cinequest Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

Cinequest Inc has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left

50% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Cinequest Inc.

23%
largest funder
62%
top three
~6
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 56% · 2018 72% · 2019 40% · 2020 64% · 2021 38% · 2022 50% · 2023 53% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

56% of Cinequest Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

56% of Cinequest Inc's grant income comes from California funders.

NY
CA
MD
DE

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

Cinequest Inc's funding base is broadening — from 3 funders to 7 as grant income climbed.

Operating margin−64% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve1.5mo · bottom quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)1% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 611 unclassified nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Organizations like Cinequest Inc

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In California

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

84% of spending goes to programs.

Program 84%Management 10%Fundraising 6%

Governance

7
board members
71%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

77%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Cinequest Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds Cinequest Inc?
Cinequest Inc (California) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,664,681 to it, the largest being Adobe Foundation ($600,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does Cinequest Inc have?
IRS filings report 18 organizations giving $2,664,681 in grants to Cinequest Inc, 12 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of Cinequest Inc?
Adobe Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $600,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like Cinequest Inc find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

Play a game about who funds Cinequest →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 18 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing