California · Nonprofit
FILM INDEPENDENT
FILM INDEPENDENT (California) receives grants from 190 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,901,841 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($3,407,953). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $19M
- Funders on record
- 190
- Grants received
- $24M
- Net assets
- $6.0M
What Film Independent does
Mission
To champion creative independence in visual storytelling in all its forms and to foster a culture of inclusion. We support a global community of artists and audiences who embody diversity, innovation, curiosity and uniqueness of vision.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Artist developmentFilm Independent's artist development programs are incubators for the next generation of bold, original visual storytellers working in film and television, fiction and non-fiction. Among the programs we offer:-project involve is a hands-on program that has supported over 1,000 filmmakers over the past 30 years, through mentorship, masterclasses and short film production. At least 31 filmmakers participated in the program in fy25.-the filmmaker labs producing, screenwriting, episodic, documentary provide mentorship and training on the business of filmmaking, as well as robust feedback on filmmakers' current projects.-fast track is a highly curated film finance market, designed to help producer-director teams advance their projects. Film Independent facilitates up to 60 meetings for fellows with top executives, financiers, packaging agents, distributors, production companies and others. -fiscal sponsorship allows participants to utilize the non-profit status of Film Independent to access grants from foundations, individual donations and government funding. It supports fully independent productions that reflect Film Independent's mission to foster unique…
$8,676,439 spentof which $610,800 as grants$1,666,775 earned by the program53% of program spendingMembership, programming and education services Film Independent is an open-access membership organization with 8,290 members in fy25, from 50 states and 71 countries. To our members we offer robust educational and film programming.-Film Independent presents screening series (92 unique events, audience of 27,499)-the directors close-up conversations on the art of directing with the year's top filmmakers (online)-Film Independent forum (conference for working independent producers on the business of filmmaking (in person) -global media makers focuses on the business and commercial aspects of the entertainment industry, connecting mid-career international filmmakers with leading u.s. Professionals and showcasing u.s. Innovation, storytelling, and entrepreneurial practices.-the cinebridge fellowship is an initiative designed for mid-career international writer-directors who are creating genre films that can transcend borders with broad global appeal.-red sea feature film project, in partnership with the red sea foundation, Film Independent designs and delivers an intensive, multi-phase residency program featuring three in-person workshops and several virtual sessions for participants…
$4,127,942 spentof which $27,157 as grants$2,941,004 earned by the program25% of program spending2025 Film Independent spirit awardsthe premiere awards show celebrating the best of independent film and television, the Film Independent spirit awards shines a light on filmmakers whose work embodies uniqueness of vision, original, provocative subject matter, diversity, and economy of means. For over 40 years this show has done more than any other single event to put independent film on the cultural map and in the public consciousness. The spirit awards exemplifies the work of talented emerging and established talent, and celebrates the best of fiction and non-fiction work in both film and television. -online screening of nominated films and shows for members (@ 65 titles) -voting members of Film Independent: 8,580 -in-person award show: 1,200 attendees
$3,481,855 spentof which $75,000 as grants$2,986,283 earned by the program21% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $16,286,236.
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 2020 to 2021, from $4.9M to $7.5M (+53%).
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 10% · 2018 9% · 2019 16% · 2020 15% · 2021 17% · 2022 15% · 2023 14% · 2024 12% · 2025 9%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
58% of FILM INDEPENDENT’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. 3 of the last 9 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.
Board chair
Eric D'Arbeloff
Acting board chair (feb 25-sep 25)
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 11 funders to 70 funders, grant income rose $1.1M → $4.6M.
23 of 190 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 46% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $914k from 22 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest United Way of Greater St Louis Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money FILM INDEPENDENT raised.
From the IRS filings of FILM INDEPENDENT’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 190 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
FILM INDEPENDENT has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% 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
60% 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 FILM INDEPENDENT.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 62% · 2018 28% · 2019 37% · 2020 28% · 2021 37% · 2022 34% · 2023 24% — 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
31% of FILM INDEPENDENT's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 33% 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
FILM INDEPENDENT draws 62% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 33 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $11M arriving through sponsors registered in 14 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
FILM INDEPENDENT is better cushioned than half of the 570 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 570 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding FILM INDEPENDENT receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $16.6M on record — $16.6M federal, $49 state.
- Department of State$15.5M
- National Endowment for the Arts$655k
- National Endowment for the Humanities$423k
- FEES-GENERAL-FOR SERVICE $49
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 FILM INDEPENDENT
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
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
86% 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
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Spirit Productions LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FILM INDEPENDENT: 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 FILM INDEPENDENT?
- FILM INDEPENDENT (California) receives grants from 190 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,901,841 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($3,407,953). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FILM INDEPENDENT have?
- IRS filings report 190 organizations giving $23,901,841 in grants to FILM INDEPENDENT, 63 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FILM INDEPENDENT?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $3,407,953 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FILM INDEPENDENT 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.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 190 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