New York · Nonprofit
THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA (New York) receives grants from 103 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,238,757 to it, the largest being The Hauser Foundation Inc ($1,050,000). 42 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $17M
- Funders on record
- 103
- Grants received
- $12M
- Net assets
- $158M
What The Paley Center for Media does
Mission
Description of organization mission: The Paley Center for Media is the premier institution dedicated to advancing the understanding of media-it's artistic value, social impact and historical importance-for the public and media professionals. With locations in new york city and los angeles, The Paley Center for Media leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms. Drawing upon our curatorial expertise, an international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the media community, the paley center examines the intersections between media and society. The public may access our permanent media collection and participate in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, innovations, personalities, and leaders who are shaping media. Previously known as the museum of television and radio, the institution was founded in 1975 by william s. Paley, a pioneering figure in the history of media. Our permanent collection of over 150,000 television and radio programs and advertisements-the nation's largest-is a vital resource for the public and for students, scholars, and researchers, a unique…
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Public programs: the paley center's highly regarded public programs, panel discussions, exhibits and screenings explore the evolving role of media across all genres and platforms in shaping cultural and civic affairs and contemporary public discourse. Programs draw from our incomparable archive to contextualize issues and the current zeitgeist. Program series include paleylive screenings and conversations with noted writers, producers, actors, and producers; paleyimpact discussions examining how media and technology change perspectives and understanding of critical issues; exhibits and experiences, immersive events, and screenings, which are free to the public; and paleyfest annual television festivals featuring screenings and conversations with the casts and creators of highly acclaimed series. The paley center convenes noted thought leaders, content creators, writers, performers, producers, and media innovators to participate in public programs. During 2024, the paley center released weekly screenings, produced over 50 public events and exhibits attracting tens of millions of viewers on the paley center's website, youtube channel, and other virtual means.
$8,478,164 spent$1,171,663 earned by the program60% of program spendingIndustry programs: the paley center offers programming for media professionals, providing a neutral setting where they may engage in discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape. Our media council is an invitation-only community for media executives and provides an independent forum for industry leaders to explore the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and connect through media and technology. Featuring candid conversations with the best minds of the industry, the media council offers events covering the full spectrum of media businesses, including paleydialogues, roundtable breakfasts, panel discussions, and interactive conversations covering the industry's most pressing issues, and paley next big thing, which pairs seasoned executives with emerging entrepreneurs. During 2024, the paley center held 10 media council events, serving thousands of attendees. The paley center's international council summit, an acclaimed annual event, brings together ceos and thought leaders to advance the exchange of ideas on critical issues and their impact on society. Informal and organized discussions cover a wide range of critical issues that define the media industry and its…
$2,277,572 spent$47,959 earned by the program16% of program spendingCollection: the paley center's permanent media collection includes over 150,000 television and radio programs and advertisements from 70 countries. Currently, the public may view over 49,432 hours of digitized programs in our on-site library, which features personal computers from which the database may be accessed via a user-friendly database management system. The paley center receives donations to the archive to preserve and promote wider public access to culturally and historically significant material. Donations come from various sources-television networks, cable tv, independent production companies, local radio and television stations, various academies or organizations with special collections, individuals with private collections, and international media organizations. We assess proposed contributions for their historical, social, and cultural significance. All original material is stored offsite in a state-of-the art archival facility. Digitized masters are also stored at this secure facility. Digitized copies are also produced for onsite access. All material is cataloged as part of the general collection and some are added to special collections. In 2024, the paley…
$1,987,492 spent$39,000 earned by the program14% of program spendingOther program services:the paley center's education programs for k-12 students and teachers utilize the paley center archive to build participants' analytical thinking, viewing, and listening skills and to deepen students' understanding of media as a powerful tool to persuade and inform. Classes for students examine media's shaping influence on historic and contemporary events and its unique power to educate and engage audiences. All education classes are aligned with state and local standards for english language arts, social studies, and visual arts. During classes, students view a curated selection of clips from the archive to examine media's coverage of and impact on a particular era or theme, such as the civil rights movement, the cold war, activism, and portrayals of women on television. Educators then guide an inquiry-based discussion where students are asked to critically evaluate the content they have viewed and to provide evidence-based responses. Educators speak about techniques used to construct a narrative, visual and auditory clues, and compare and contract techniques across different programs, examining them for purpose and effect. To reinforce learning and…
$1,321,748 spent$65,981 earned by the program9% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $14,064,976.
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 2021 to 2022, from $169M to $136M (−20%).
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 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 10% · 2021 8% · 2022 1% · 2023 1% · 2024 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
75% of THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA’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 8 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
Maureen J Reidy
President & CEO
Board chair
Frank A Bennack Jr
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 20 funders to 25 funders, grant income rose $551k → $1.8M.
15 of 103 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 30% 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: $34M from 4 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest William S Paley Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA raised.
From the IRS filings of THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 103 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 PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 9% of grant income, and it takes 8 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 8 funders to its left
39% 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 THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 18% · 2018 50% · 2019 21% · 2020 9% · 2021 42% · 2022 12% · 2023 27% — growing more concentrated.
“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
29% of THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 41% 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
62% of THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.7M 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 PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 772 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 772 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $950k on record — $950k federal, $90 state.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$750k
- National Endowment for the Arts$160k
- National Endowment for the Humanities$40k
- Trav.Exp-Student Groups-Wards$90
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 PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
67% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA: 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 PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA?
- THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA (New York) receives grants from 103 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,238,757 to it, the largest being The Hauser Foundation Inc ($1,050,000). 42 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA have?
- IRS filings report 103 organizations giving $12,238,757 in grants to THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, 42 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA?
- The Hauser Foundation Inc is the largest funder on record, with $1,050,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Paley Center for Media →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 103 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