Colorado · Nonprofit
DENVER FILM SOCIETY
DENVER FILM SOCIETY (Colorado) receives grants from 80 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,108,305 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($3,690,845). 36 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 67% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2026
- $17M
- Funders on record
- 80
- Grants received
- $16M
- Net assets
- $18M
What Denver Film Society does
Mission
The mission of the Denver Film Society is to develop opportunities for diverse audiences to discover film through creative, thought-provoking experiences. We strive to cultivate and celebrate film as an art form; to enrich and expand the film-going experience for regional audiences; to provide a showcase for international cinema that would not otherwise be seen in denver; to provide a platform for colorado and u.s. Independent filmmakers; to promote dialogue about film artists and the public; and to provide unique programming for special audiences. Denver film offers year- round cinematic programming, special events, mini festivals and education programs to its members and the general public, serving more than 200,000 film lovers annually.
As stated on its FY2026 Form 990.
Programs
Other film programs: other programs include a diverse slate of cinematic celebrations throughout the calendar year. Denver film offerings through the year include the women+film festival, a six-day showcase of documentaries, narratives, and short films celebrating the best in women-centric programming, the cinemaq festival, the leading colorado brand in lbgtq+ film, and colorado dragon film festival in partnership with dragon 5280, a film festival celebrating asian and asian american cinema. In 2020, denver film added virtual cinema programming, which audiences can access from their homes, to address the covid-19 pandemic and improve accessibility. Virtual cinema content includes films, filmmaker q and a's, and panel discussions.
$3,868,540 spentof which $3,492,641 as grants$541,309 earned by the program47% of program spendingFilm on the rocks: in the summer, Denver Film Society presents film on the rocks, a series of classic films that screen at red rocks amphitheater. Screenings pair popular films with local performers and bands.
$832,033 spent$837,505 earned by the program10% of program spendingThe Denver Film Society is a year-round, not-for-profit organization serving more than 200,000 community members annually. The Denver Film Society hosts regular program series, festivals, and other special events, bringing film-goers and filmmakers together to celebrate film. In 2019, Denver Film Society began to do business as denver film to emphasize inclusivity.
$2,170,187 spent$731,219 earned by the program26% of program spendingDenver film festival and mini-festivals: the denver film festival is a two-week festival in early november which screens approximately 260 international films, hosts about 150 filmmaker guests, and takes place at venues around the denver metro area. Focuses within the denver film festival include women+film, cinemaq, cinelatinx, j'adore, the italian showcase, and the sheila k o'brien spotlight on uk cinema. Also included as part of dff are panel discussions, virtual reality, and immersive experiences. Each year, the Denver Film Society hosts mini-festivals women+film, cinemaq, and the colorado dragon boat film festival (in partnership with colorado dragon boat), which are film festivals dedicated to the film of females, the lgbtq+ community, and the asian community, respectively. Other partnerships include the denver silent film festial, the sci-fi film festival, film on the rocks, and sunset cinema.
$1,392,146 spent$399,344 earned by the program17% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $8,262,906.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2025 to 2026, from $10M to $18M (+77%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 12% · 2018 12% · 2019 10% · 2020 11% · 2021 17% · 2022 44% · 2023 21% · 2024 7% · 2025 6% · 2026 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
81% of DENVER FILM SOCIETY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 10 reported years ran a deficit.
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
Kevin Smith
CEO
Board chair
Amanda Blaurock
Chair
As listed on its FY2026 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 19 funders, grant income rose $117k → $3.8M.
23 of 80 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 67% 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 DENVER FILM SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 80 funders by total. 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
DENVER FILM SOCIETY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
68% 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 DENVER FILM SOCIETY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 43% · 2018 24% · 2019 20% · 2020 42% · 2021 52% · 2022 31% · 2023 27% — 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
22% of DENVER FILM SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 45% give in more than one year at all.
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
67% of DENVER FILM SOCIETY's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $5.3M that is directly attributable, 69% of it comes from funders outside Colorado, across 20 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $11M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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.
Against its field
DENVER FILM SOCIETY has grown faster than three-quarters of the 797 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 797 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2026
Government funding DENVER FILM SOCIETY receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $40k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$40k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like DENVER FILM SOCIETY
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 Colorado
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
98%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Denver Film Society Building · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DENVER FILM SOCIETY: 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.
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 DENVER FILM SOCIETY?
- DENVER FILM SOCIETY (Colorado) receives grants from 80 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,108,305 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($3,690,845). 36 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 67% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does DENVER FILM SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 80 organizations giving $16,108,305 in grants to DENVER FILM SOCIETY, 36 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DENVER FILM SOCIETY?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $3,690,845 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DENVER FILM SOCIETY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2026 (financials across 2017–2026), and the filings of 80 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing