On Being Project
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE ON BEING PROJECT IS A NONPROFIT MEDIA AND SOCIAL HEALING ORGANIZATION. OUR MISSION IS TO PURSUE DEEP THINKING AND MORAL IMAGINATION, SOCIAL CREATIVITY AND JOY, TOWARDS THE RENEWAL OF INNER LIFE, OUTER LIFE, AND LIFE TOGETHER. WE PRODUCE THE AWARD-WINNING GLOBAL PODCAST "ON BEING" WITH KRISTA TIPPETT, AND AN ECOSYSTEM OF OFFERINGS ACROSS CONTENT, CONVENINGS, AND TOOLS/RESOURCES THAT NOURISH AND AMPLIFY THE GENERATIVE NARRATIVE OF OUR TIME. PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH ON BEING TO EXPLORE THE GREAT QUESTIONS OF MEANING AS THEY ARE NEWLY AND URGENTLY ALIVE IN 21ST CENTURY LIFE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN? HOW DO WE WANT TO LIVE? WHO WILL WE BE TO EACH OTHER?
- Income
- $2.5 million
- Spending
- $2.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 71%
- Reserves
- 8.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
- Employees
- 11
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $372,876, president
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 (public benefit, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 8.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 3% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 30% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1571% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 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
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 58% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 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
7 of 7Has a 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.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited 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 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 (2)
- $1.8 million spent. IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, THE ON BEING PROJECT'S WORK CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON DEVELOPING AN ECOSYSTEM OF OFFERINGS AND SERVING OUR FAR-FLUNG GLOBAL WEB OF LISTENERS/PRACTITIONERS. THE PEOPLE WHO GATHER AROUND ON BEING ARE PART OF THE GENERATIVE NARRATIVE OF OUR TIME. IN ALL KINDS OF LIVES, IN ALL KINDS OF PLACES, THEY ARE HEALERS AND SOCIAL CREATIVES. AT HUMAN PACE, THEY ARE ENLIVENING THE WORLD THAT THEY CAN SEE AND TOUCH. IN GENERATIONAL TIME, THEY ARE STITCHING RELATIONSHIP ACROSS RUPTURE. ON BEING'S CONVERSATIONS ON-AIR AND OFF CREATE OPENING. IN A POLITICAL AND CULTURAL SPACE THAT REWARDS FEAR, FERMENTS ARGUMENT, AND HASTENS CLOSURE, ON BEING NOURISHES LEARNING AND GROWTH, NEWNESS, AND EVOLUTION. CONTENT FROM ON BEING STUDIOS: FY25 ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDED PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF PODCAST SEASONS OF ON BEING AND OF POETRY UNBOUND, WITH EXTENSIVE DIGITAL EXTENSIONS AND MARKETING, PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE PAUSE, AND FOR POETRY UNBOUND ON SUBSTACK, AS CORE COMPLEMENTS TO THE PODCAST SEASONS. TARGETED EFFORTS ACROSS OTHER DISTRIBUTION AND ENGAGEMENT PLATFORMS (E.G., PODCAST LISTENING GROWTH ON YOUTUBE) THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND STRENGTHENED VISUAL PRESENTATION. NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDED: IMMERSIVE EDITIONS OF THE PAUSE EMAIL NEWSLETTER, AND TWO PODCAST SEASONS OF POETRY UNBOUND, THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF POETRY UNBOUND'S ONGOING WEEKLY SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER AND A SPECIAL POEMS AS TEACHERS SERIES AS PART OF OUR WORK ON CONFLICT AND THE HUMAN CONDITION. LAB FOR THE ART OF LIVING: TOOLS AND RESOURCES IN SERVICE OF, AND INFORMED BY, OUR CONTENT AND CONVENINGS TOWARDS EMBODIED WISDOM AND A LIFE-GIVING IMPRINT ON THE WORLD AROUND, BREATH TO BREATH, AND HOUR TO HOUR. THE LAB IS AN EMERGING SPACE TO DESIGN OFFERINGS THAT EXTEND AND DEEPEN OUR ACCOMPANIMENT AND HELP PEOPLE CARRY WISDOM BACK INTO THEIR LIVES. FROM THE WORK AND LEARNINGS OF FY23, WE MOVED FORWARD WITH THE LAB'S DEVELOPMENT AND FORMAL LAUNCH. WE RECEIVED DEDICATED FUNDING TO INVESTIGATE THE CREATION OF A LAB FOR THE ART OF LIVING A POTENTIALLY EXPANSIVE, REVENUE-GENERATING, PUBLIC-FACING STOREFRONT. THAT INVESTIGATION LAID A GROUNDWORK FOR FURTHER EXPANSION WE MIGHT STILL PURSUE IN THE FUTURE WITH THE RIGHT PARTNERS. IN THE IMMEDIATE TERM, IT YIELDED INVALUABLE LEARNING ABOUT THE ON BEING PEDAGOGY AS DESCRIBED AND ADAPTED BY A RANGE OF PEOPLE AND PLACES. IT YIELDED A HUMBLE YET EXCITING FIRST OFFERING: THE HOPE PORTAL, WITH A RECENT INITIAL BETA RELEASE TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2024 ON BEING GATHERING. IN FALL, 2024, ON BEING IS WALKING ALONGSIDE 30 ORGANIZATIONS TO ACTIVATE AND TEST THIS SEVEN-PART EXPERIENCE DESIGNED TO NURTURE COMMUNITIES OF ACCOMPANIMENT AT THE INTERSECTION OF INNER LIFE AND LIFE TOGETHER. THERE IS A WORLD BEING REMADE FILLED WITH JOY, MORAL IMAGINATION, AND SOCIAL CREATIVITY, BUT IT IS LARGELY HIDDEN FROM VIEW. ON BEING PROJECT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE GENERATIVE LANDSCAPE IS TO MAKE THIS WORLD, THIS DIFFERENT STORY OF US, MORE VIBRANT AND MORE REAL AND TO BRING PEOPLE MORE FULLY INTO THEIR HUMANITY, THEIR VOCATION, AND THEIR AGENCY.
- SEE SCHEDULE O
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 October 2014.
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.