Dstl Arts
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
DSTL Arts is a nonprofit arts mentorship organization that inspires, teaches, and hires emerging artists from underserved communities. This mission is achieved through our multiple programs, including our Poet/Artist Development Program, which mentors, trains, and publishes Emerging Poet/Artists from historically marginalized communities; our Conchas y Café Bilingual Creative Writing Workshop series for adults, and its associated publication, the Conchas y Café Zine; and our annual sister publications, Art Block Zine and Aurtistic Zine. In FY2025, our organization published a total of 8 new publications and served over 1,000 individuals through live workshops, readings, and direct mentorships (digital and in-person). This is in addition to the 978 viewers of our video-recorded workshops presented online via YouTube.
- Income
- $82,320
- Spending
- $121,393
- Reserves
- 0.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 88%
- Highest pay
- $7,287, founder, executive director; president
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 34 out of 100. Higher than 10% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 47% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 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 (4)
- $5,720 spent. The Poet/Artist Development Program served up to 33 Emerging Poet/Artists, providing direct mentorship and guidance in workforce development-related skills specifically relevant to working artists. This program offered approximately 750 hours of direct mentorship, with an additional 8 hours of professional and workforce development instruction for our mentees and the broader community. Furthermore, this program continued offering Teaching Artist Internships for program participants and also continued producing our podcast, Art Block, featuring writers and artists from across our programs and community.
- $1,002 spent. Conchas y Café Zine is the product of our Conchas y Café Bilingual Creative Writing Workshop Series for Adults, offered virtually for FY2025. This biannual, 15-week series continued providing instruction in literary concepts and techniques to participants while publishing their creative writing at the culmination of the two-semester series of workshops. For FY2025, this program produced 1 new publication, with 1 accompanying public reading, serving approximately 450 individuals across all workshop sessions, the reading, and publication distribution. Furthermore, this was accomplished entirely online, utilizing various virtual platforms for instruction, including Zoom, social media livestreams, and YouTube for hosting recorded lessons.
- $1,001 spent. Art Block Zine and Aurtistic Zine are annual, sister publications that feature Emerging Poet/Artists from both Los Angeles County and nationwide, respectively. Both publications have annual open calls for submission from individuals, and each publication seeks to highlight the works of individuals from historically marginalized and underserved populations. In FY2025, our publications released 2 new volumes and served approximately 60 individuals through publication, with an additional 150 total publications distributed in FY2025. Additionally, approximately 150 individuals watched the previously recorded publication readings on the DSTL Arts YouTube channel throughout FY2025. Lastly, our podcast is produced under the banner of the Art Block Zine program, and it reaches an average audience of 400 viewers/listeners annually.
- $1,510 spent. Our Creative Impact workshop series (a sub-program of our Poet/Artist Development Program) offered a paid Teaching Artist Residency for 1 Poet/Artist from a historically marginalized community in Los Angeles County. This program provided 4 in-person social justice-focused workshops that explored the impact of immigration on our local community, and 4 virtual workshops. This program resulted in 1 new publication featuring the artworks of our Teaching Poet/Artists, workshop participants, and LA-based artists, and 1 in-person reading with a social media-based livestream featuring select poets and artists who contributed to the publication. Approximately 300 total individuals engaged with the program either as workshop participants or audience members viewing the associated workshop recordings and readings/performances conducted as a culmination event for the workshop series. The post-program views on YouTube of all related workshops and reading recordings resulted in an additional 200+ individuals benefiting from this program.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 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 December 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.