Bidoun Projects Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
BIDOUN PROJECTS IS A PUBLISHING AND CURATORIAL INITIATIVE WHOSE AIM IS TO PRESENT NEW AND UNEXPECTED IDEAS ABOUT MIDDLE EASTERN ARTS AND CULTURE. BIDOUN PRODUCES AN AVANT-GARDE MAGAZINE THAT COMBINES ELEMENTS OF AN ART MAGAZINE AND LITERARY JOURNAL(CON'T ON SCHEDULE O) IT IS CIRCULATED TO APPROXIMATELY 4,500 INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS, AND MORE THAN 23,000 READERS VIEW THE MATERIAL VIA OUR WEBSITE, NEWSLETTERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS. OUR CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE ARTISTS, WRITERS, ACTIVISTS, FILMMAKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE AND OUR CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES TAKE FORM AS EXHIBITIONS, FILM SCREENINGS, LECTURES AND BOOK LAUNCHES.
- Income
- $990,695
- Spending
- $305,673
- Spent on programs
- 59%
- Reserves
- 28.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 2
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $61,632, secretary/senior editor
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 28.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 69% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 717% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1559% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Fair: 61 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 11 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
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (3)
- $94,363 spent. BIDOUN.ORGBIDOUN.ORG IS THE COMPREHENSIVE ARCHIVAL WEBSITE AND PUBLISHING PLATFORM FOR BIDOUN MAGAZINE. COMPRISED OF 6,039 IMAGES, 1,071 ARTICLES, 512 AUTHORS AND 29 ISSUES, BIDOUN.ORG PRESENTS 10 YEARS OF THE PRINT MAGAZINE IN A DIGITAL ARCHIVE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE. IN ADDITION, NEWLY COMMISSIONED LONG-FORM ARTICLES, TRANSLATIONS, AND ARTIST PROJECTS WERE PUBLISHED ON THE PLATFORM THROUGHOUT THE CALENDAR YEAR ON A MONTHLY BASIS REACHING OVER 23,000 UNIQUE VIEWERS ONLINE AND OVER 26,000 FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
- $67,500 spent. SOLIDARITY MICROGRANTSBIDOUN ADMINISTERED MICROGRANTS TO ARTISTS, WRITERS, AND CURATORS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SERIOUS ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL CENSORSHIP DUE TO THEIR ANTI-WAR STANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. MICROGRANTS WERE ISSUED TO 12 INDIVIDUALS FROM 3 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IDENTIFIED FROM OVER 100 UNIQUE GRANT REQUEST SUBMISSIONS.
- $18,567 spent. NICOLAS MOUFARREGE PUBLICATIONBIDOUN CONDUCTED RESEARCH AND PLANNING FOR A FORTHCOMINGLARGE-SCALE MONOGRAPH ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF ARTIST NICOLASMOUFARREGE. THIS INCLUDED EDITORIAL AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH, THECOMMISSIONING OF LONG-FORM ESSAYS, EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ANDDOCUMENTATION OF ARCHIVAL WORKS.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 October 13, 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 December 2024.
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 September 2011.
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 October 21, 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.