Minnesota · Nonprofit
FILMNORTH
FILMNORTH (Minnesota) receives grants from 71 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,279,059 to it, the largest being The McKnight Foundation ($1,651,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $2.0M
- Funders on record
- 71
- Grants received
- $7.3M
- Net assets
- $2.8M
What Filmnorth does
Mission
Filmnorth inspires and provides opportunities for all filmmakers and media artists in the north to thrive, with a commitment to eliminate disparities for those from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the film industry.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Career development - Filmnorth supports independent filmmakers as they progress through their careers. Through artistic fellowships, Filmnorth re-grants over $100,000 annually to mid-career artists. Between 70-120 people currently apply each year for fellowships. Many more attend workshops and events, most of which are focused on communities that have been historically underrepresented in the film industry (I.e. Those who identify as black, indigenous and people of color, people with a disability, undocumented, rural, low-income, and lgbtqia2+ people, females, and those embodying intersections of these identities). Filmnorth is actively investigating other career development support.
$198,000 spentof which $100,000 as grants10% of program spendingEducation - Filmnorth has a unique, primary focus on educational activity, providing independent media artists the training and professional development needed to thrive in the industry. Filmnorth also offers unique cohorts, such as the inclusive and socially conscious film lab, free to participants and inclusive of a mentorship component. Filmnorth offers over 100 courses each year on a quarterly basis to teach the art, business, and technology of media making. Filmnorth's annual forum and master classes connect media artists to industry leaders and innovators from around the country. All teaching artists, panelists, and guest speakers are experts in their field.(continued on schedule o)(continued from part iii)topics include screenwriting, editing, cinematography, production, direction, and photography. Students range from emerging artists to seasoned professionals. Scholarships are provided for all paid programs. Over 2,000 served annually, which includes in-person and some online classes.
$257,257 spent12% of program spendingYouth media education - Filmnorth's youth media programs work with youth, both in and out of schools. The mission is to teach filmmaking as a means of engaging youth in their education - developing artistic, critical thinking, and career skills while examining issues in their own environments. This program scaffolding provides youth with various entry points to filmmaking and opportunities to thrive as they develop their skills, employ their talent, and interact with professional filmmakers. All programs employ teaching artists who illuminate the art, technology, and business of media arts, and offer post-class mentorships and other access to Filmnorth programming. Studio 13 offers an intensive experince to high school youth each fall, culminating in a short film. Filmnorth also offers a robust summer camp program designed to reach both elementary and high school students.
$121,122 spent6% of program spendingFiscal sponsorship and support - Filmnorth consults with more than 50 film projects annually to help them produce new work and raise project funds. Filmnorth staff consults with projects on all elements of film and media production, including projects, careers, distribution, funding, and production. A board committee reviews all applications, and the full board votes to accept or deny each application.
$1,179,172 spentof which $1,179,172 as grants57% of program spendingAccess and facilities - Filmnorth helps filmmakers get their films made with low-cost access to editing suites, classrooms, meeting space and filmmaking equipment. The facilities and equipment are integral to the education program for student field work and practical experience. Approximately 250 served.exhibitions and screenings - Filmnorth increases audiences for filmmakers with over 40 opportunities to screen and exhibit new work across the state, including the monthly cinema lounge series, independent spirit award screenings, and other screenings. Over 3,600 served annually, including online.memberships - Filmnorth membership affords filmmakers referrals, discounts on classes and career development activities, and consulting. Over 200 active members.
$325,523 spent16% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,081,074.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 2022 to 2023, from $1.9M to $4.9M (+154%).
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: 2018 9% · 2019 24% · 2020 14% · 2021 8% · 2022 14% · 2023 3% · 2024 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of FILMNORTH’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 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
Andrew Peterson
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 11 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $139k → $2.1M.
21 of 71 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 33% 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 FILMNORTH’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 71 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
FILMNORTH 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
35% 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 FILMNORTH.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 42% · 2018 44% · 2019 47% · 2020 46% · 2021 29% · 2022 68% · 2023 30% — 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
26% of FILMNORTH's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 35% 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
53% of FILMNORTH's grant income comes from Minnesota funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
FILMNORTH is better cushioned than half of the 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding FILMNORTH receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $260k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$260k
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 FILMNORTH
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 Minnesota
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
99%
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
- Filmnorth Development Manager LLC · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FILMNORTH: 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 FILMNORTH?
- FILMNORTH (Minnesota) receives grants from 71 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,279,059 to it, the largest being The McKnight Foundation ($1,651,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FILMNORTH have?
- IRS filings report 71 organizations giving $7,279,059 in grants to FILMNORTH, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FILMNORTH?
- The McKnight Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $1,651,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FILMNORTH find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Minnesota. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 71 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