Inlandia Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF THE INLANDIA INSTITUTE IS TO RECOGNIZE, SUPPORT AND EXPAND LITERARY ACTIVITY IN ALL OF ITS FORMS IN THE INLAND EMPIRE BY PUBLISHING BOOKS AND SPONSORING PROGRAMS THAT DEEPEN PEOPLE'S AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THIS UNIQUE, COMPLEX AND CREATIVELY VIBRANT REGION.
- Income
- $243,371
- Spending
- $219,655
- Spent on programs
- 64%
- Reserves
- 9.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 35%
- Employees
- 11
- Volunteers
- 40
- Highest pay
- $66,473, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 10% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 14% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1564% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 7 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 82 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $3,550 spent. THREE OF INLANDIA'S CORE PROGRAMS ARE YOUTH CREATIVE LITERACY AND ADULT CREATIVE LITERACY AND LITERARY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AS WELL AS THE LITERARY LAUREATE, CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON TEENS. THESE PROGRAMS SUPPORT WRITERS OF ALL LEVELS AND AGES. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS THAT RANGE FROM FREE TO MINIMAL COST. HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR INCLUDE INLANDIA'S JOURNALING JOURNEY FROM A TO ZINE WAS A SIX-WEEK SUMMER CAMP FOCUSED ON CREATIVITY AND NATURE FOR PRIMARY GRADES AT THE SSGT. SALVADOR J. LARA LIBRARY, LED BY YOUNG ADULT LEADERS FROM A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS WHO LED THE CHILDREN THROUGH A WEEKLY PROGRAM THAT COMBINED NATURE WITH CREATIVE LITERACY. THE WEEKEND WRITING PROGRAM FOR TEENS AT THE RIVERSIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY, SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER? BROUGHT IN DIVERSE GUEST WRITERS FROM MANY GENRES INCLUDING JOURNALISM TO MANGA TO POETRY TO PUBLISHING, SO THAT ASPIRING YOUNG WRITERS COULD GET FIRST-HAND PROFESSIONAL LEVEL EXPERIENCE FROM WRITERS WHO LOOK LIKE THEM. OUR TEEN POET LAUREATE PROJECT, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION, THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, AND THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM, SPOTLIGHTS DOZENS OF TEEN POETS WHO EACH ARE HONORED DURING AN AWARDS CEREMONY AT RIVERSIDE CITY HALL, WITH ONE NAMED THAT YEAR'S TEEN POET LAUREATE BY A PANEL OF ESTEEMED POET JURORS. ADULT WRITING WORKSHOPS INCLUDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING WRITING WARRIORS, A MEMOIR WRITING WORKSHOP FOR SENIORS, AND CARTLESS, FOR THE REGION'S UNHOUSED RESIDENTS, LED BY A FORMERLY UNHOUSED INDIVIDUAL. ADDITIONALLY WE OFFERED SPOKEN WORD, FLASH FICTION, AND POETRY WORKSHOPS, AS WELL AS THE BILINGUAL TESOROS DE CUENTOS AND ASL POETRY WORKSHOPS, AND DOES IT MAKE CENTS?, ON THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER. IN FY 2024-25, WE DELIVERED A TOTAL OF 152 SESSIONS ACROSS 17 WORKSHOPS AND 31 SESSIONS ACROSS 14 CHILDREN AND YOUTH CREATIVE LITERACY PROGRAMS.
- $116,140 spent. ANOTHER OF INLANDIA'S CORE PROGRAMS IS OUR PUBLICATIONS PROGRAM WHICH AMPLIFIES THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO CALL THIS REGION HOME AS WELL AS UNDER-HEARD AND MARGINALIZED VOICES EVERYWHERE. IN THE FY 2024-25, INLANDIA BOOKS LAUNCHED MULTIPLE NEW PUBLICATIONS. IN TOTAL, WE RELEASED 8 BRAND NEW PUBLICATIONS, SEVERAL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN REPUBLISHED AS EBOOKS FOR ACCESSIBILITY. AS USUAL, WE PUBLISHED OUR YEARLY ANTHOLOGY OF READERS FROM ALL OVER THE INLAND EMPIRE. WE ALSO PUBLISHED OUR LITERARY AWARD WINNERS FOR OUR ELIUD MARTINEZ PRIZE AND HILLARY GRAVENDYK PRIZE: SEARCH PARTY, PAIN SURVEY, AND LAW OF THE LETTER. IN ADDITION, WE PUBLISHED A BOOK OF ALL RIVERSIDE, CA BASED WOMEN OVER 50 YEARS OF AGE CALLED RIVERSIDE WOMEN CREATING CHANGE. WE HAD A FEW OTHER TITLES INCLUDING RAZED AND KEEP SWEET, BOTH FICTION TITLES, THE FORMER DEALING WITH LGBTQ LOVE DURING A TUMULTUOUS TIME IN US HISTORY, AND FINALLY MEMOIR APARTNESS.
- $21,541 spent. OUR FIFTH AND FINAL CORE PROGRAM, FREE PUBLIC LITERARY AND CULTURAL EVENTS, ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING ELSE THAT INLANDIA DOES. WE PARTNER WITH OTHER CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP OUR OVERLAPPING AUDIENCES. NOTABLE RECENT PUBLIC LITERARY AND CULTURAL EVENTS HAVE BEEN COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN SEVERAL LOCAL MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL ARTS INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL LIBERTIES, THE CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE OF INLAND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE MUSEUM OF RIVERSIDE, PRESENTING PROGRAMS LIKE THE POWER OF THE LETTER, WHICH EXAMINED THE INCARCERATION OF OUR REGION'S JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS DURING WWII, AND THE BANNED BOOKS TOUR WHICH SHOWCASED FAVORITE BANNED BOOKS. WE ALSO BEGAN A NEW SERIES OF AUTHOR CONVERSATIONS AT THE SAM AND ALFREDA MALOOF MUSEUM AND GARDENS. TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS SERVED FROM ALL PROGRAMS FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2025 WERE 15K+ PEOPLE, ABOUT 6.25% OF WHICH WERE CHILDREN AND YOUTH. WE DELIVERED 152 WORKSHOP SESSIONS, 27 CULTURAL EVENTS, AND 31 CHILDREN AND YOUTH CREATIVE LITERACY PROGRAMS
- INLANDIA INSTITUTE'S PROGRAMS HAVE MOVED BACK TO AN IN-PERSON FORMAT, BUT WITH THE ADDED BENEFIT OF LIVESTREAMING THANKS TO CARES-ACT FUNDING WHICH ALLOWED FOR THE PURCHASE OF AND TRAINING WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 2012.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.