California · Nonprofit
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 177 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,681,388 to it, the largest being PERENCHIO FOUNDATION ($5,500,000). 91 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $40M
- Funders on record
- 177
- Grants received
- $24M
- Net assets
- $58M
What The American Film Institute does
Mission
The American Film Institute ("afi") is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Education and training: -afi conservatory: this world-renowned film conservatory is devoted exclusively to hands-on learning in collaboration with master filmmakers. Offering a two-year accredited mfa program, degrees are granted in six filmmaking disciplines - cinematography, directing, editing, producing, production design and screenwriting. The afi conservatory's extraordinary alumni testify to the value of the experience. -afi dww+ is a pioneering tuition-free year-long directing program, open to all applicants, that supports emerging narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. The program is one of the first of its kind to champion traditionally underrepresented filmmakers.
$21,771,305 spentof which $2,326,249 as grants$19,548,691 earned by the program69% of program spendingExhibition: -afi on screen: is among the largest nonprofit film exhibitors in the united states, afi on screen encompasses: -afi fest - this is one of the most influential film festivals in north america, featuring a rich slate of more than 100 films over 5 days. It combines pre-awards season red carpet premieres with global showcases of the best in contemporary cinema. -afi silver theatre and cultural center - this film and video exhibition space offers an unsurpassed, richly eclectic program of international first-run and repertory cinema - the afi silver connects a diverse regional audience with the best the art form has to offer in a state-of-the-art and architecturally significant screening environment, in silver spring, maryland. The three screens are open 365 days a year.
$6,293,043 spent$3,063,775 earned by the program20% of program spendingNational programs: -afi life achievement award: established in 1973, this was the first award to recognize a film artist's body of work that has "stood the test of time". It remains the highest honor for a career in film. -afi awards (revenues & expenses included under special events): an almanac for the 21st century, afi awards records and preserves america's cultural legacy by honoring excellence in the moving image arts. It is the only form of national recognition that acknowledges the collaborative nature of film and television by honoring the creative ensembles as a whole.
$2,436,817 spent$2,024,451 earned by the program8% of program spendingPreservation and documentation:-afi collection: this vital and indispensable part of the library of congress archive continues to acquire and preserve films as part of its ongoing mission to maintain america's film heritage. The collection includes over 37,000 titles, consisting primarily of theatrical features and shorts, as well as substantial numbers of newsreels, documentaries and television programs.-afi catalog: this definitive online database sets the standard as the source for accurate information on the entire history of american film. It has been called "the authoritative oxford english dictionary of american film."
$843,306 spent3% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $31,344,471.
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 $47M to $61M (+29%).
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 2% · 2019 3% · 2020 4% · 2021 13% · 2022 9% · 2023 14% · 2024 4% · 2025 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
32% of THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (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.
Chief executive
Robert Gazzale
President & CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 48 funders to 59 funders, grant income rose $1.9M → $2.1M.
19 of 177 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 16% 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: $438k from 7 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Greater Horizons). These are real filings, and they are not money THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE raised.
From the IRS filings of THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 177 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
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 19% · 2019 16% · 2020 59% · 2021 12% · 2022 15% · 2023 25% — broadly stable.
“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
47% of THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% 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
74% of THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.8M 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
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE's funding base is broadening — from 48 funders to 59 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 570 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.9M on record — $2.0M federal, $876k state.
- Department of Education$1.1M
- National Endowment for the Humanities$700k
- National Endowment for the Arts$190k
- MD$875k
- NJ$300
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 THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE
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
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 24 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE: 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 THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE?
- THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 177 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,681,388 to it, the largest being PERENCHIO FOUNDATION ($5,500,000). 91 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 177 organizations giving $23,681,388 in grants to THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE, 91 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE?
- PERENCHIO FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE 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 177 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