Fotokids Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Fotokids provides young people from low-income communities in Guatemala with education in photography, design, and digital media, together with scholarships and the support services needed to stay in school and enter the workforce.
- Income
- $358,197
- Spending
- $407,276
- Spent on programs
- 100%
- Reserves
- 2.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 8
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 64 out of 100. Higher than 28% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 14% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 15100% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 83 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a 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.
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 September 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 (3)
- $97,267 spent. Fotokids funds and oversees media arts education and vocational training for young people from low-income communities in Guatemala City, carried out by Guatemalan registered nonprofit Fundacin de Nios Artistas de Guatemala. The program combines photography, graphic design, and digital media with practical career preparation. All five staff are Fotokids graduates who have worked professionally in media; each serves in both an instructional and an administrative role and mentors students facing poverty and community violence. During FY2025, 37 students participated in 86 classes and workshops. Students built professional portfolios through five assignments for outside clients in editorial and event photography, commercial catalog work, and web and digital design, and nine teenage students completed internships or supervised work placements. A new partnership with Ingeniera y Representaciones, S.A. (INRESA) provided nine professional workshops for 14 advanced students and three staff members at INRESAs studio in Zone 4, with studio access and advanced equipment donated in kind. To remove barriers to attendance, students received lunch and round-trip transportation twice weekly, and 10 students received psychosocial support.
- $173,495 spent. Fotokids funds and oversees a second media arts and community support in Santiago Atitln, Guatemala, The program uses photography and digital design to build creative expression, technical skill, and professional experience. During FY2025, 50 students participated. They completed six workshops led by three Guatemalan and five international photography and design professionals, and delivered three projects for local clients. Student work was exhibited internationally during the year. Two students were selected for the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney, Australia, where one was named a finalist; the work was also shown digitally and in additional Australian cities. Fifty prints were featured in the Bronx Documentary Centers Latin American Foto Festival in New York City. Twenty-three prints were included in What Makes Me Click!, a childrens photography exhibition co-curated by the Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation and the Childrens Photography Archive (UK) and shown at the Government Museum in Chennai, India. To sustain participation amid economic hardship, the families of participating students received food baskets each month throughout the year, approximately 600 distributions during FY2025.
- $134,833 spent. Fotokids funds full scholarships for formal education, from primary school through university, for students enrolled. A full scholarship covers required tuition and related school costs, removing the financial barrier that most often ends a students education. During FY2025, Fotokids added 37 students who had participated in the program for more than one year, bringing total recipients to 87. That figure represents the full unduplicated enrollment: every student Fotokids served during the year also received a scholarship. Of the 87 recipients, 42 attended primary school, 40 attended secondary school, and 5 attended university. All 82 primary and secondary recipients advanced to the next grade level. No recipients reached secondary graduation during FY2025 given current cohort composition; the five university recipients were already enrolled. The FY2025 expansion was supported in part by a $50,000 grant from The Palmer Foundation.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 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 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 September 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 March 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 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.