Transparency · Financials
Where the money comes from, and where it goes.
The Foundation publishes audited financial statements, IRS Form 990, executive compensation ranges, and a narrative budget, every year. The first set of documents will publish at year one of operation. We are pre-launch as of 2026, so there is no 990 yet. There is also no fiscal year to audit yet. When there is, there will be.
This page is the index. As filings are published, they will be linked here alongside the narrative that explains them.
- Cadence
- Annual, calendar-year aligned
- First 990
- Year one of operation
- First independent audit
- Year two
- Archive
- All prior years retained
What is published
Four documents, every year.
Together these form the Foundation’s annual financial record. Each one is linked from this page the moment it is filed. Nothing on this list is optional.
Audited financial statements
Prepared under US GAAP for nonprofits. Audited by an independent firm starting year two, once we have a full fiscal year to audit.
IRS Form 990
The full long-form 990, filed with the IRS and posted here in its filed form. No summary, no redaction beyond what the IRS permits for donor privacy.
Narrative budget
A plain-English walk-through of the numbers. What was planned, what was spent, what changed mid-year, and why. Written by the leadership team, not by a PR filter.
Executive compensation ranges
Ranges for the five highest-paid staff, disclosed in 990 Schedule J and summarised here. The comp committee sets these; the Board approves them; the public sees them.
Largest donors, by range, with consent
Major donors listed in banded ranges, with donor-by-donor consent. Anonymous gifts are honoured as anonymous.
Cadence
Annually, posted here.
Everything publishes on the calendar year. The 990 is filed within the IRS deadline for the fiscal year. Audited statements publish alongside the 990 once the audit begins in year two. The narrative budget publishes at the same time. Historical filings are retained on this page in full.
Where the money comes from
A hybrid funding mix.
The Foundation is funded on a deliberately diversified mix. No single source should ever be large enough that losing it compromises the mission. The shape shifts over time.
Bootstrap capital carries the early years. Major donors and institutional grants fund programs and research. Sustaining members provide a steady base that scales with community size. Revenue from the subsidiary (romantic, Academy, enterprise) flows back to the Foundation under a services agreement. The directional mix is documented in the nonprofit structure strategy; the precise figures publish in each year’s 990.
Bootstrap capital
Founder and early-circle commitments. Substantial in year one, tapering to near zero by year five as other sources come online.
Major donors and family foundations
Individual and family-foundation gifts at the five- and six-figure level. Named in banded ranges in each 990, with consent.
Institutional grants
Philanthropic and public-health grants. Named on the funders page, with program scope. No grant that constrains the mission.
Sustaining memberships
Recurring gifts from members who choose to fund the work. Monthly and annual options; no membership gates core features.
Subsidiary revenue
The taxable subsidiary operates the romantic track, Academy SaaS, Active, and any future enterprise products. Profits flow back to the Foundation under a documented services agreement.
Where the money goes
Programs first.
Expenses split across six categories. The narrative budget explains each in detail each year. The headline commitment is that programs and the people who build them are the majority of the budget. Administration is kept small on purpose.
Engineering and product
The people who build and maintain the platform. Market-rate compensation, documented on the 990.
Research
Independent research partnerships, IRB-governed studies, outcome measurement, and publication. Peer-reviewed where possible.
Programs
Community facilitation, safety operations, moderation, clinical oversight, and the programs that serve members directly.
Governance and operations
Board expenses, legal, compliance, audit, insurance, and the unglamorous work of keeping a 501(c)(3) in good standing.
Safety and trust
Moderation tooling, clinical advisors, incident response, responsible-disclosure programs, and the on-call humans who review reports.
Reserves
A running operating reserve of six to twelve months, held in conservative instruments. The Board reviews target reserve levels annually.
Auditor commitment
Independent audit, beginning year two.
The Foundation will engage an independent auditor to audit the year-one financial statements, once year one is complete. The first audited set publishes with the year-two 990. The auditing firm will be announced when it is retained, not speculatively before.
The Audit Committee of the Board is responsible for selecting the auditor, reviewing the audit plan, receiving the audit report, and approving management’s response. Audit Committee members are independent directors. No member of management sits on the Audit Committee.
Pre-launch note
As of 2026, no fiscal year has closed. No 990 has been filed. No audit has been performed. The first of each will happen on the cadence described above. We will not fabricate figures or timelines to fill this page. When something is real, it will appear here.
Support the work.
The Foundation is member-supported. If the transparency described on this page is what you want to see more of in the world, this is how it keeps going.