Watsonville Film Festival
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
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- Income
- $327,193
- Spending
- $243,479
- Spent on programs
- 62%
- Reserves
- 17.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 58%
- Employees
- 0
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
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 17.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 26% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 8% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1562% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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
Weak: 22 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
5 of 250 of 9 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
0 of 5Reports that it does not keep minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give 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 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 (1)
- $150,231 spent. During the fiscal year 2024-2025, we presented the 13th Annual Watsonville Film Festival from March 6-25 at the CineLux Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville. Our centerpiece film commemorated the 40th Anniversary of the Watsonville Cannery Strike.For the first time we hosted screenings at Maya Cinemas in Salinas and 418 Project Theater in Santa Cruz. Attendance: 2,800. We presented 50 films and hosted 38 filmmakers, most of them based in the Monterey Bay Region. We featured 22 live events, 12 screenings across four cities, 9 of them sold out. 2025 WFF Film Guide. As part of our Cine Se Puede initiative, we hosted our First Filmmakers Summit. 56 filmmakers attended, connected and shared their dreams, interests and challenges working in our region. The WFFs 7th Annual Dia de Muertos Festival at the Plaza attracted 2,500 families.At this beautiful celebration we premiered Eternidad, a WFF Cine Se Puede supported film by director Ignacio Muoz. We also presented The Book of Life,selected by community vote. As part of the program, we featured 175 live performers, 21 community altars, collaborated with 50 community partners, businesses and sponsors, and supported 40 artists and vendors at Mercado de Muertos. The WFF Team activated an office downtown called Dia de Muertos HQ at Plaza Vigil to connect better with the community. We worked diligently on logistics, safety plan, volunteer coordination, event production and DOD decorations. This also allowed us to work weekly with wonderful volunteers from WHS Hope Club Hosted individual screenings under our year round programming, WFF Presents : - Collaboration with Pajaro Valley Pride to present Hummingbirds and Q&A with the filmmakers at Green Valley CineLux. - Collaboration with the Filipino Cultural Festival to screen Dear Watsonville at Pajaro Valley Arts. - Premiered Leading Change, a selection of Safe Ag, Safe Schools (SASS) Films at CineLux. For several months our team worked on an impact campaign with further screenings at CSUMB, Cabrillo College, PV High and PVPSA. - Visited four local schools with Watsonville-based actor Sedrick Cabrera
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 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 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 March 2017.
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.