Passes our checks

Center for Photographic Art

EIN 77-0220629 · Carmel, CA

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

What it says it does

See Schedule O

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

Reserves
35 of 35
Spendable reserves would cover 23.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20
It owes 6% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15
Income exceeded spending by 23% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15
Income rose 4% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 15
77% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

Independent board
25 of 25
14 of 14 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15
Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8
Has a 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
6 of 15
Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)

$355,644 spent. Gallery - Presented 9 Exhibtions in 2024. Exhibitions included the work of Regional and National Photographic Artists. The Exhibitons included specifically the work of the following:Roman Loranc (Radiant Light);Brian Taylor (The Art of Getting Lost);Daido Moriyama(5 Decades) and our 2023-2024 International Juried Exhibtion, 2024 CPA Artist Grant Recipients, Dog Days of summer, 2024 Members Juried Exhibition, 8X10 Exhibition and finally our International Juried Exhibtion 2024-2025.
$58,582 spent. The Oranization hosted 37 online events and 6 in person classes. In addition there were 3 workshops by Susan Burnstine and 6 classes given online by Brenton Hamilton on the history of photography. In addition the gallery participated in PhotoWalk Carmel, and awarded Artist Grants and the special Paula Riff Award. During our Dog Days of Summer Exhibition the gallery hosted Ellen Shershow who is a renowned photographer of dogs who came to the gallery to made portraits of dogs for a fund raising event. In addition to hosting all of our online offerings, our ED Ann Jastrab personally did 144 Portfolio Reviews (in -person and online).
$4,179 spent. Catalogs -- Three were published in 2024. These were for International Juried Show, our Member Juried show,the Brian Taylor show "The Art of Getting Lost".

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

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 April 1989.
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.