1947 Partition Archive
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It owes more than it owns.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
THE 1947 PARTITION ARCHIVE IS A CITIZEN POWERED NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO DOCUMENTING, PRESERVING AND SHARING EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS FROM ALL ETHNIC AND ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY THE PARTITION OF BRITISH INDIA IN 1947; AND TO EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION AND PRESERVATION WORKERS.
- Income
- $319,691
- Spending
- $327,100
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- -3.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 95%
- Employees
- 6
- Volunteers
- 72
- Highest pay
- $34,380, executive dir.
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
Weak: 33 out of 100. Higher than 6% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 303% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 2% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 4% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 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
Weak: 49 out of 100. Higher than 19% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no 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
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 (1)
- $258,103 spent. The 1947 Partition archive recorded and preserved oral history interviews from 502 Partition witnesses in 2024, bringing our collection to 11,594 oral histories. Of the collections, 633 oral histories were archived and over 1,000 reviewed by 15 Digital Oral History Archivist paid part-time interns, two Digital Oral History Archivist full time apprentice and 3 trained volunteer student archivist interns who in total donated 740 hours of pro-bono service to the cause. Additionally, 13 student volunteers engaged in public history activities that included copy-editing oral history abstracts, digital curation, graphic design, video editing, oral history field work, and more, donating 3,543 hours of volunteer service. The 1947 Partition Archive successfully continued and executed its paid Digital Oral History Archivist program for high school and college students, and an advanced paid apprenticeship, in collaboration with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. A total of four (4) college students from American colleges and universities were onboarded and trained. Six (6) museum and library science professionals were engaged as guest lecturers for the popular program. The student interns and apprentices archived for 1,440 hours in total. The organization directly served over 1,100 elderly Partition witnesses over age 78, by recording, archiving and copy-editing their oral histories and approximately 3,300 individuals who are children of witnesses and over 10,000+ estimated grandchildren and great grandchildren of witnesses in 2024. The 1947 Partition Archive onboarded 998 members of the general to its free oral history workshop, of whom 427 members completed the training and 54 went on to record and submit oral histories specifically of Partition witnesses from their communities and became confirmed Citizen Historians (trained oral historians). The 1947 Partition Archive hosted 7 community funded Story Scholars Program recipients in 2024, who submitted 147 oral history interviews. In 2024 the organization hosted two advanced oral historians who submitted 233 oral history interviews total.In 2024, 78 researchers requested access to the collections. The 1947 Partition Archive published its first public education coffee table visual history reference book, "10,000 Memories" in 2024, selling nearly 2,000 copies in 2024, including pre-orders.In 2024, The 1947 Partition Archive resumed its public pop-up exhibits. Our first exhibit post-Covid closures attracted nearly 500 attendees in Berkeley. A total of six volunteers engaged in public events and other public programming, donating 204 hours to the organization
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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 2011.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 7, 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.