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The Organization for Transformative Works Inc

EIN 38-3765024 · New York, NY

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood83 out of 100GovernanceStrong92 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE ORGANIZATION FOR TRANSFORMATIVE WORKS (OTW) IS A NON-PROFIT RUN BY AND FOR FANS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO AND PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF FANWORKS AND FAN CULTURES.

Income
$877,181
Spending
$598,748
Spent on programs
55%
Reserves
71.2 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
0
Volunteers
879

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

Good: 83 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 71.2 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 32% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 10% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    8 of 15

    54% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 16 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

Strong: 92 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 7 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (5)
  1. $294,825 spent. IN 2024, THE ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN (AO3) CELEBRATED ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY AND REACHED A MILESTONE OF 14 MILLION FANWORKS ON THE SITE.AO3 MADE UPDATES TO ITS TOS TO CLARIFY EXISTING LANGUAGE AND INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY AND MADE TECHNICAL UPGRADES TO ITS SITE FOR CONTINUED STABILITY.IN ADDITION TO CHANGES TO AO3'S TOS, THE WERE ALSO UPDATED. TOS FAQ UPDATES PRIORITIZED ADDRESSING A FAR MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF QUESTIONS ABOUT AO3 AND ITS TOS BASED ON THE QUESTIONS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS POLICY & ABUSE HAS SEEN IN REPORTS. A TOTAL OF ALMOST 20,000 WORDS, INCLUDING OVER 130 NEW QUESTIONS, WERE ADDED TO THE TOS FAQ.AN OPEN COMMENT PERIOD WAS ANNOUNCED FOR FEEDBACK ON THE TOS AND TOS FAQ UPDATES. THE NEWS POST RECEIVED OVER 4,300 COMMENTS FROM USERS. POLICY & ABUSE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEWS POST MODERATION TEAM, RESPONDED TO OVER 400 COMMENTS, PROVIDING CLARITY ABOUT THE UPDATES TO THE DOCUMENTS AS WELL AS AO3 IN GENERAL.IN ADDITION TO TOS UPDATES, POLICY & ABUSE RECEIVED 27,700 TICKETS IN 2024 SPANNING A VARIETY OF CATEGORIES, AN INCREASE COMPARED TO 2023'S 23,600.
  2. $18,039 spent. IN 2024, FANLORE SAW OVER 5,000 NEW PAGES AND OVER 163,000 EDITS MADE, BRINGING IT TO 72,936 TOTAL PAGES, WHICH HAVE BEEN EDITED 1,531,996 TIMES SINCE ITS FOUNDING. 2024 ALSO BROUGHT THE CREATION OF 21,496 NEW USER ACCOUNTS. WITH HELP FROM SYSTEMS, FANLORE WAS UPGRADED TO MEDIAWIKI 1.39, WHICH INCLUDED STABILITY IMPROVEMENTS, CODE TWEAKS, AND BUG FIXES.THE COMMITTEE CELEBRATED AND AWARDED BADGES FOR THEIR ANNUAL IFD CHALLENGE, BINGO CHALLENGE, AND STUB SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE. FANLORE ALSO PARTNERED WITH COMMUNICATIONS' FANHACKERS TO RUN AN EXCITING FANDOM FRIENDSHIPS CHALLENGE, INSPIRED BY FANHACKER'S ZINE OF THE SAME THEME. THIS FANLORE CHALLENGE ENCOURAGED USERS TO BROADEN THEIR FANNISH HORIZONS BY COMPLETING SIX EDITS TO A WIDE RANGE OF FANLORE ARTICLE TYPES, ALL IN THE THEME OF FANDOM FRIENDSHIP.
  3. $5,161 spent. TRANSFORMATIVE WORKS AND CULTURES RELEASED THREE ISSUES IN 2024: NO. 42, A SPECIAL ISSUE ON "FANDOMS AND PLATFORMS," IN MARCH; NO. 43, A GENERAL ISSUE, IN SEPTEMBER; AND NO. 44, A SPECIAL ISSUE ON "CENTERING BLACKNESS IN FAN STUDIES," IN DECEMBER. ALL THREE ISSUES WERE RELEASED ON SCHEDULE - CONTINUING TWC'S PUBLICATION RECORD SINCE THE JOURNAL'S FOUNDING.
  4. $8,115 spent. TRANSACTION FEES
  5. $14 spent. BANKING FEES

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since August 2008.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.