Can Art Change the World Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
CAN ART CHANGE THE WORLD INC IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT AIMS TO USE THE POWER OF ART, CULTURE AND EDUCATION TO BRING SOCIAL AWARENESS AND SOCIAL CHANGE AROUND THE WORLD AND IN THE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES.
- Income
- $1.2 million
- Spending
- $1.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 83%
- Reserves
- 5.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 59%
- Employees
- 0
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
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 58% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 2% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 152% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1583% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 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
Good: 84 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a 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.
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 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 (4)
- $419,836 spent. INSIDE OUT PROJECT - SEE SCHEDULE O
- $332,426 spent. OTHER PROJECTS AND PROGRAM EXPENSES $332426 OTHER GRANTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS TOTAL: $86081 A) COLLEGE CITOYEN DE FRANCE $43,700 A) 2024 UKRAINE COMBAT ART IOP KYIV $19,880 B) CACTW SWITZERLAND $22,501 OTHER PROGRAM SERVICE COSTS $246,345 A) 138 GRAND ST BUILDING EXPENSES (60% OF TOTAL) $79,016 B) BANK FEES $333 C) DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION (PRO-RATED) $148,487 D) LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL FEES $7,130 E) INSURANCE $7,379 F) CONSULTING -CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT $4,000
- $272,472 spent. CASA AMARELA - SEE SCHEDULE O.
- 2024 WAS A YEAR OF PROFOUND GROWTH, RESILIENCE, AND IMPACT FOR CAN ART CHANGE THE WORLD?. ACROSS CONTINENTS, OUR PROGRAMS REACHED MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER BEFORE - EMPOWERING VOICES, BUILDING COMMUNITY, AND USING ART AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION, TRANSFORMATION, AND CHANGE. FROM THE EXPANSION OF THE INSIDE OUT PROJECT, TO THE DAILY IMPACT OF CASA AMARELA IN THE MORRO DA PROVIDENCIA FAVELA IN RIO DE JANEIRO, TO THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF OUR NEW GLOBAL PRISON ART PROGRAM, WE CONTINUED TO PROVE THAT CREATIVITY HAS THE POWER TO UNITE, HEAL, AND INSPIRE. THE INSIDE OUT PROJECT CONTINUED TO THRIVE IN 2024, ENGAGING 26,749 PARTICIPANTS THROUGH 156 ACTIONS ACROSS 37 COUNTRIES. OF THESE, 138 WERE GROUP ACTIONS WITH 18,002 PORTRAITS, AND 18 PHOTOBOOTH ACTIONS WITH 8,369 PARTICIPANTS ACROSS 11 COUNTRIES - INCLUDING THREE NEW COUNTRIES: PORTUGAL, SAUDI ARABIA, AND SOUTH KOREA. EDUCATION REMAINED CENTRAL TO THE INSIDE OUT PROJECT, WITH 90 EDUCATION ACTIONS ACROSS 23 COUNTRIES, TOTALING 10,895 PARTICIPANTS, INCLUDING THE GLOBAL VISAGES DE LA FRANCOPHONIE ACTION WITH 1,104 PORTRAITS ACROSS 13 COUNTRIES. INSIDE OUT ALSO FACILITATED 8 WORKSHOPS, BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON, IN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES. THE PROJECTS EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED THROUGH LOCAL PRINTING, WITH 76% OF PORTRAITS PRINTED OUTSIDE NEW YORK, REDUCING BOTH COSTS AND CARBON FOOTPRINT. CASA AMARELA REMAINED A CORNERSTONE FOR THE MORRO DA PROVIDNCIA COMMUNITY IN RIO DE JANEIRO, SERVING 162 PARTICIPANTS WEEKLY (AGES 365), WITH AN IMPACT REACHING 210 FAMILIES ANNUALLY. PROGRAMS SPANNED EDUCATION, ARTS, WELLNESS, DIGITAL INCLUSION, AND CULTURAL IDENTITY, WITH OVER 1,200 CLASSES DELIVERED IN 2024. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED THE LAUNCH OF THE DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM (42 PARTICIPANTS), THE FORMATION OF THE LUNA ORQUESTRA (25 YOUNG MUSICIANS WITH 7 PERFORMANCES OUTSIDE THE FAVELA), AND THE COLER DANCE COLLECTIVE (20 PARTICIPANTS WITH 3 PUBLIC PERFORMANCES). CASA ALSO HOSTED 7 EDITIONS OF OPEN AIR CINEMA AND CELEBRATED ITS 5TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL, DRAWING MORE THAN 500 COMMUNITY MEMBERS. CASA AMARELA ALSO PROVIDED DAILY HEALTHY MEALS, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT, AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN, WITH 52 WOMEN GRADUATING FROM COURSES IN CULINARY ARTS, SEWING, FASHION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR THE MIP PROGRAM. THE NEW BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2024: THE FOUNDATION AND THE FIRST FLOOR WERE COMPLETED, WITH THE SECOND FLOOR, ROOFTOP, AND GARDEN IN PROGRESS. THE BUILDING IS SLATED TO OPEN IN LATE 2025. THE 2025 OPERATIONAL BUDGET FOR CASA AMARELA WAS $250,300, ALONGSIDE $206,000 ALLOCATED FOR CONSTRUCTION THE WORK THAT BEGAN AT TEHACHAPI MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON HAS NOW EVOLVED INTO THE GLOBAL PRISON ART PROGRAM, LAUNCHED OFFICIALLY IN 2024. THE PROGRAM BUILDS ON JRS WORK AND DOCUMENTARY FILM TEHACHAPI, WHICH AS RELEASED GLOBALLY ON MASTERCLASS AND TOURED IN FRANCE IN SUMMER 2024, SPARKING NEW COLLABORATIONS. THE NEW PROGRAMS MISSION IS TO DELIVER CONSISTENT ARTS-BASED AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING INSIDE PRISONS, GUIDED BY JRS METHODS OF STORYTELLING, BELONGING, AND COMMUNITY. PROGRAMMING INCLUDES ONGOING ARTS-BASED WORKSHOPS AND CURRICULA (WITH LEADERSHIP FROM FORMERLY INCARCERATED PARTICIPANTS), VIRTUAL AND TABLET-BASED EDUCATIONAL COURSES ACCESSIBLE TO THOUSANDS OF INCARCERATED PEOPLE IN THE U.S AND PROGRAM EVALUATION AND RESEARCH TO MEASURE LONG-TERM IMPACT. IN 2024, HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW PROGRAM INCLUDED THE RELEASE AND TOUR OF THE TEHACHAPI FILM, WHICH GENERATED INTERNATIONAL INTEREST, INCLUDING FROM CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENTS IN FRANCE AND MAINE AND THE LAUNCH OF A NEW PROGRAM FRAMEWORK AND LANGUAGE, ROLLED OUT ON THE CACTW WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA. AS WE REFLECT ON 2024, WE ARE REMINDED OF THE EXTRAORDINARY POWER OF ART TO TRANSFORM LIVES AND BUILD BRIDGES ACROSS BORDERS, COMMUNITIES, AND EVEN PRISON WALLS. FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PORTRAITS PASTED IN PUBLIC SPACES, TO CHILDREN AND WOMEN FINDING EMPOWERMENT AT CASA AMARELA, TO NEW PROGRAMS SPARKING HOPE WITHIN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, OUR WORK CONTINUES TO EXPAND IN REACH AND DEPTH. WITH STRONG FOUNDATIONS LAID IN 2024 AND AMBITIOUS GOALS AHEAD, WE CONTINUE OUR WORK WITH RENEWED ENERGY AND COMMITMENT TO AMPLIFYING VOICES, CREATING CONNECTION, AND SHOWING THE WORLD THAT, INDEED, ART CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
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 October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2021 for not filing returns for three years. The IRS now lists it as tax-exempt again.
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 December 2024.
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 June 2022.
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.
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