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California · Nonprofit

THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY

THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY (California) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $31,607 to it, the largest being ROBERT A & VIRGINIA HEINLEIN PRIZE TRUST ($27,106). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$42k
Funders on record
4
Grants received
$32k
Net assets
$255k
4/4 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 8%
01What it does

What The Heinlein Society does

Mission

The Society exists to promote the legacy of Robert A. Heinlein by encouraging the reading and discussion of his written work, the use of critical thinking skills in our daily lives, and a love of science essential in promoting humankind's future beyond our home planet. We will "Pay it Forward" through support of educational, literary, and charitable endeavors including, but not limited to: volunteer blood drives; scholarships; the Heinlein For Heroes book distribution program; and the creation and distribution of teaching materials, including support of The Heinlein Journal.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.

Programs

  1. Heinlein for Heroes book distribution to active duty military, veterans, and their families.7,529 books donated in 390 shipments. These are usually sent to units or families and shared, so it's difficult to estimate how many actually read the books sent.

    $15,963 spent
    70% of program spending

  2. Scholarships. $4,000 per recipient in a one-time award, four recipients given each year. For undergraduates whose major is in a STEM field of study. We had 567 applicants for the scholarships.

    $245 spentof which $16,000 as grants
    1% of program spending

  3. Support of volunteer blood donation. We provide resources to have blood drives at conventions and, since the COVID pandemic, donation in the local community which we record as a virtual drive. We recorded 4,669 blood donations. These can serve a variable number of people depending on the ultimate use of the blood product, which we are not told.

    $6,471 spent
    29% of program spending

  4. The Heinlein Society co-sponsors the Robert A. Heinlein Award, awarded each year at the Balticon held by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, another 501(c)3. The award is given to someone in the field of Science Fiction who has demonstrated outstanding published works in science fiction and/or technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space. We provide a grant for up to half of the expenses incurred by the Award program.

    $0 spentof which $3,740 as grants
    0% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $22,679.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2022, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2022, 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 = 20222022 Revenue 100 ($74k) Expenses 100 ($39k) Net assets 100 ($144k)2023 Revenue 178 ($132k) Expenses 132 ($52k) Net assets 156 ($225k)2024 Revenue 58 ($43k) Expenses 139 ($55k) Net assets 153 ($221k)2025 Revenue 57 ($42k) Expenses 111 ($44k) Net assets 177 ($255k)
2022202320242025
Revenue (57)Expenses (111)Net assets (177)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 $144k to $225k (+56%).

$144k
$225k
$221k
$255k
2022202320242025
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.

2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

77% of THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (65% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 26,798 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 4 reported years ran a deficit.

$35k
’22
$80k
’23
−$12k
’24
−$1k
’25
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income fell $5k → $904.

Funder
'17
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
total
funders
1
1
2
3
3
2
1

1 of 4 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 5% 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 THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY’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

THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 86% of grant income and the top three 97%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

86%
largest funder
97%
top three
~1
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 96% · 2021 86% · 2022 75% · 2023 55% — 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.

Where its funders are

THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 3 states in all.

OH
VA
TX

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

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

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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

THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY's revenue fell 43% between 2022 and 2025.

Operating margin−3% · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)−17% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,277 education nonprofits under $100k, FY2025

Organizations like THE HEINLEIN 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 California

American Gi Forum Education Foundation of Santa Maria Calif71%The Mythopeic Sociey70%Friends of Hamilton Humanities69%Armenian Society of Fellows69%Greene Scholars69%The Hyacinth Fellowship Inc69%Head2heart Partners in Education Inc69%Human Family Educational and Cultural Institute69%

Nationally

Marthas Vineyard Science Fiction Association Ltd72%American Gi Forum Education Foundation of Santa Maria Calif71%Rho Omicron Foundation71%Phi Tau Sigma Honorary Society Inc71%The Friends of the Howard County Library Inc70%The Bobby Henline Foundation70%Sinfonia Educational Foundation70%Ieee Foundation Inc70%
05Profile & governance

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

Public support

97%

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

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE HEINLEIN 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.

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 THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY?
THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY (California) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $31,607 to it, the largest being ROBERT A & VIRGINIA HEINLEIN PRIZE TRUST ($27,106). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY have?
IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $31,607 in grants to THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY?
ROBERT A & VIRGINIA HEINLEIN PRIZE TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $27,106 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY 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 Heinlein Society →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2022–2025), and the filings of 4 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