Red Hen Press Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It owes more than it owns.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF RED HEN PRESS IS TO PUBLISH WORKS OF LITERARY EXCELLENCE, TO FOSTER DIVERSITY, AND TO PROMOTE LITERACY IN OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS. WE SEEK A COMMUNITY OF READERS AND WRITERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE ESSENTIAL HUMAN PRACTICE KNOWN AS LITERATURE.
- Income
- $1.2 million
- Spending
- $1.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 70%
- Reserves
- -1.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 60%
- Employees
- 19
- Volunteers
- 33
- Highest pay
- $106,494, contracts officer/director
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
Weak: 34 out of 100. Higher than 6% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 114% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 9% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 31% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1570% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 18 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
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2517 of 19 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
0 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 (4)
- $848,036 spent. PUBLISHING WORKS OF LITERARY EXCELLENCE: RED HEN PRESS PUBLISHES 25-30 BOOKS EACH YEAR IN HOPES OF BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT, INCLUSIVE, AND DIVERSE LITERARY COMMUNITY. THE PRESS PUBLISHES WORKS OF LITERARY FICTION, CREATIVE NONFICTION, AND POETRY, HELPING TO SPREAD THE VOICE OF PERSPECTIVES OFTEN OVERLOOKED BY MAINSTREAM COMMERCIAL PUBLISHERS. RED HEN PRESS SUPPORTS EMERGING AUTHORS AND USES LITERARY AWARDS TO PUBLISH AND SPOTLIGHT AUTHORS FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. THIS WORK INCLUDES OUR LETRAS LATINAS PUBLISHING SERIES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME'S INSTITUTE FOR LATINO STUDIES, AS WELL AS THE ANN PETRY AWARD FOR BLACK PROSE AUTHORS, THE CAI EMMONS FICTION AWARD, THE BENJAMIN SALTMAN POETRY AWARD, AND THE QUILL PROSE AWARD FOR QUEER LITERATURE. THROUGH OUR RECENT DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP WITH TIA CHUCHA PRESS AND LUIS RODRIGUEZ, WE ARE ABLE TO BRING EVEN MORE DIVERSE WORK TO LARGER AUDIENCES AROUND THE WORLD. AMONG RED HEN PRESS'S ROSTER OF AUTHORS ARE PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS PERCIVAL EVERETT, WHOSE WORK WITH RED HEN PRESS SPARKED AN ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES COVERING FOUR RED HEN PRESS TITLES, AND DALE MAHARIDGE, WHOSE FORTHCOMING NOVEL WILL BE YET ANOTHER STAPLE IN MAHARIDGE'S COLLECTION OF CLASSIC AMERICANA LITERATURE. RED HEN PRESS BOOKS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED BY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARD ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS HELEN BENEDICT'S THE GOOD DEED, FINALIST FOR THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE; DIDI JACKSON'S MY INFINITY, WINNER OF THE TENNESSEE BOOK AWARD IN POETRY; AND SUSAN RICH'S BLUE ATLAS, FINALIST FOR THE WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARD IN POETRY.
- $41,247 spent. STUDENT POETRY WORKSHOPS AND WITS HQ: FOR OVER 20 YEARS, RED HEN PRESS HAS BROUGHT POETRY EDUCATION TO UNDERSERVED STUDENTS IN PASADENA AND LOS ANGELES THROUGH OUR WRITING IN THE SCHOOLS (WITS) PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM SERVES PARTICIPATING STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND SCHOOLS AT NO COST, REACHING APPROXIMATELY 350 STUDENTS ANNUALLY BY BRINGING PUBLISHED AUTHORS DIRECTLY INTO CLASSROOMS TO TEACH THE CRAFT OF WRITING. HOST SCHOOLS ARE TITLE I SCHOOLS, MEANING AT LEAST 40% OF IMPACTED STUDENTS COME FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. OUR WITS PROGRAM TARGETS UNDERSERVED ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY MADE UP OF THE FOLLOWING DEMOGRAPHICS: 85% LATINX/HISPANIC, 11% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 2% ASIAN AMERICAN, <1% EUROPEAN AMERICAN, <1% NATIVE AMERICAN, AND <1% MIDDLE EASTERN.ADDITIONALLY, IN 2024, RED HEN LAUNCHED WRITING IN THE SCHOOLS HQ, AN ON-SITE SUMMER EXTENSION OF WITS FOR LOCAL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLERS. IN WITS HQ, STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO EXPLORE POETRY, FICTION, AND CREATIVE NONFICTION WITH RED HEN AUTHORS AS WELL AS GAIN IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FROM RED HEN STAFF. RED HEN PRESS USES A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THE WITS PROGRAM AND WITS HQ. HOST TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE POLLED THROUGH PRE- AND POST-WORKSHOP SURVEYS. STUDENT EVALUATIONS INCLUDE QUESTIONS ABOUT CONFIDENCE IN WRITING AND VOCABULARY AS WELL AS SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT INTEREST IN POETRY, INSTRUCTOR EFFECTIVENESS, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE COURSE CONTENT. HOST TEACHER SURVEYS INCLUDE SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT STUDENT PERFORMANCE, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CURRICULUM, AND THE ABILITY OF THE INSTRUCTOR TO TAILOR THEIR LESSONS TO THE STUDENTS' LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING AND TO INCORPORATE CALIFORNIA STATE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS. WE UTILIZE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE SURVEY DATA, ALONG WITH STAFF NOTES, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAM.
- $19,671 spent. SPEAKING AND PERFORMING: RED HEN PRESS CONDUCTS OVER 30 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LITERARY EVENTS EACH YEAR IN PERSON, ONLINE, AND/OR THROUGH HYBRID FORMATS. LITERARY EVENTS ARE AN IMPORTANT WAY THAT RED HEN SUPPORTS ITS UP-AND-COMING AUTHORS, HELPING NEW VOICES ESTABLISH LITERARY CAREERS. NEARLY ALL EVENTS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD COMMUNITY AMONG BOOK LOVERS. EVENTS ARE FREQUENTLY HELD IN PASADENA AT RED HEN'S BUILDING IN AN EVENT SPACE CALLED THE RED HEN PRESS LITERARY CENTER, WHICH INCLUDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR WRITING IN THE SCHOOLS K-12 STUDENTS TO PERFORM THEIR POETRY FOR THE PUBLIC. IN-PERSON EVENTS ARE ALWAYS ADA ACCESSIBLE, AND ONLINE EVENTS USE TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS CAPTIONING TO ENSURE ACCESSIBILITY TO A RANGE OF AUDIENCES. THIS YEAR, WE HAVE BEEN ENJOYING THE USE OF OUR UPDATED EVENT SPACE WITH NEW LIGHTING AND SOUND EQUIPMENT FUNDED BY A GRANT FROM THE PERENCHIO FOUNDATION IN 2023 IN ORDER TO UPGRADE THE AMOUNT AND QUALITY OF OUR LITERARY EVENTS AND PERFORMANCES. OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT THIS YEAR WAS ALSO EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL, RAISINGMORE MONEY THAN ANY OF OUR PAST EVENTS.
- $11,037 spent. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES: BEYOND LITERARY ENGAGEMENTS, RED HEN PRESS IS A COMMUNITY FOCUSED ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO BUILD A STRONGER FUTURE FOR LITERATURE, AUTHORS, AND READERS. RED HEN PRESS FREQUENTLY PARTICIPATES IN BOOK DONATION PROGRAMS WITH LOCAL SERVICE AGENCIES AND OTHER COMMUNITY NONPROFITS. THE RED HEN PRESS LITERARY CENTER ALSO HOSTS OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES WITH READINGS, PLAYS, OPERAS, MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS SERVING AS A LOS ANGELES COUNTY VOTING CENTER. TO PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF LITERARY PROFESSIONALS, WE ALSO MAINTAIN A ROBUST MULTI-DEPARTMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT INTRODUCES COLLEGE STUDENTS AND BEYOND TO THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS AND HELPS TO DEVELOP INDIVIDUAL CAREERS THROUGH HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES. THESE ACTIVITIES ALL HELP TO KEEP LITERATURE AND THE ARTS RELEVANT AND THRIVING FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.
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 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 June 2025.
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 May 2000.
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.