Nonprofit · EIN 20-1897585
SMARTMEME INC
Also known as CENTER FOR STORY BASED STRATEGY
Tax-exempt · LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 31, 2025 | 990 | $2,017,745 | $2,878,224 | -$860,479 | $4,177,120 | $233,917 | $3,943,203 |
| July 31, 2024 | 990 | $4,218,156 | $2,036,399 | $2,181,757 | $5,309,193 | $309,404 | $4,999,789 |
| July 31, 2023 | 990 | $1,678,377 | $1,598,407 | $79,970 | $3,119,879 | $301,847 | $2,818,032 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended July 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $1,929,476
- Program service revenue
- $56,474
- Investment income
- $21,183
- Other revenue
- $10,612
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $662,949
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $179,655
- Other salaries and wages
- $843,852
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $1,176,525
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $14,887
- Accounting fees
- $60,224
- Occupancy
- $28,889
- Travel
- $103,140
- Program services (functional)
- $2,476,917
- Management and general (functional)
- $300,753
- Fundraising (functional)
- $100,554
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $5,309,193
- Total assets, end of year
- $4,177,120
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $233,917
- Net assets, end of year
- $3,943,203
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $2,291,083
- Net assets with donor restrictions
- $1,652,120
- Gross receipts
- $2,017,745
- Employees
- 12
- Year formed
- 2004
- State of legal domicile
- VT
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended July 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nayantara Sen | Executive Dir. Officer | 32 | $155,929 |
| Reuben Tihi Hayslett | Interim ED Officer | 2 | $47,086 |
| Jamila Brown | Vice President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $41,700 |
| Angus Maguire | President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Seng So | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Iva Torres | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Kedar Reddy | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Rachel Weidinger | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
990 for the year ended July 31, 2024: 13 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Castro | Interim ED Officer | 32 | $135,000 |
| Zakiya Scott | Strategy Director | 40 | $100,556 |
| Reuben Tihi Hayslett | Board President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Jamila Brown | Vice President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Yee Won Chong | OutgngTreasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Angus Maguire | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Seng So | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Kedar Reddy | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Sara Dillon | Outgng Secretar Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Michael Premo | Outgng Treasure Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Dallas Goldtooth | Outgoing Pres. Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Ivy Brashear | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Nayantara Sen | Executive Dir. Officer | 32 | $0 |
990 for the year ended July 31, 2023: 9 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Castro | Interim ED Officer | 40 | $33,750 |
| Reuben Tihi Hayslett | Board President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Cristobal Lagunas | Staff Rep Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Yee Won Chong | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Angus Maguire | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Sara Dillon | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Michael Premo | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Dallas Goldtooth | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Trina Jackson | Board Member Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 1301 N BROADWAY PMB 32649, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012-1408
- Principal officer (990 for 2024)
- Angus Maguire, 1301 N Broadway STE 32649, Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Signed the 990
- Angus Maguire, Board President
- Phone
- (475) 242-0002
- Website
- www.storybasedstrategy.org
- Return prepared by
- HEALY AND ASSOCIATES
Mission
SMARTMEME INC. DBA CENTER FOR STORY-BASED STRATEGY ("CSS") IS A NATIONAL STRATEGY CENTER DEDICATED TO HARNESSING THE POWER OF NARRATIVE FOR MOVEMENT BUILDING AND SOCIAL CHANGE. CSS PROVIDES SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS AND ALLIANCES THE STRATEGIC SUPPORT TO REFRAME ISSUES AND WIN CRITICAL CAMPAIGNS. WE USE STORY-BASED APPROACHES TO AMPLIFY THE IMPACT OF GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING, TO COMMUNICATE TRANSFORMATIVE POSSIBILITIES AND TO RE-IMAGINE SOCIAL CHANGE STRATEGY. THROUGH TRAINING AND CONSULTING, WEVE SUPPORTED OVER 300 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND 6,000 INDIVIDUAL CHANGE AGENTS.
Program accomplishments
- Public Trainings: CSS hosted multiple introductory training sessions to equip organizations with Story-Based Strategy (SBS) methods and support them in building long-term capacity for narrative strategy. Additionally, CSS planned a four-day, in-person training session, set for October 2025, bringing together 30 participants from different organizations.Expenses $2,476,917 · grants $662,949 · revenue $56,474
- Partnerships: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: CSS brought together a one-year cohort alongside Frameworks to shift mindsets around care while addressing individualism and deservingness. The cohort also aimed to convene collaborative learning spaces throughout the year to foster co-creation, relationship-building, and shared learning across six different organizations and build their capacity for narrative strategy.
- Partnerships: Healthy & Safe Schools: In the second year of a two-year initiative, CSS implemented a structured, multi-phase framework designed to support a cohort of organizations in the adoption and application of SBS methodologies. This initiative facilitated the development of a cohesive meta-narrative and integrated long-term communication strategies to strengthen campaign effectiveness and advance community capacity of participating organizations working to promote and grow healthy schools.
- Partnerships (Custom): Throughout the year, we support a variety of community-based organizations and collaborative initiatives by training groups in SBS tools to strengthen leadership, capacity, and facilitate effective planning and decision-making processes. Through partnerships, workshops, strategy sessions, and technical assistance, we help organizations utilize narrative strategy to develop shared visions, align goals, and enhance accountability to the communities they serve. .
- RWJF: Developed curriculum and underlying structure for a 1-year cohort program with six organizations on narrative strategy & shifting mindsets. TCE Healthy & Safe Schools: Continued to provide cohort trainings, individualized coaching, in-person convenings and conducted new field research through partnering with Frameshift Public Trainings: Successfully completed 4 annual Intro Trainings and planned our annual 5-day Advanced Training (held in October 2025) while implementing new tools and innovating the 5-day structure to find new best practices.Custom Trainings: Deepened partnership and provided custom coaching with several collaborating organizations including the Southwest Organizing Project, Rogue Climate and over 20 EPA grantees. Network: Continued to hold spaces to build a network of SBS practitioners and began planning a new network gathering called Radical Imagination Retreat to run in 2026.
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in July, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | July 31, 2026 | December 15, 2026 | Not due yet |
| 2024 | July 31, 2025 | December 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | July 31, 2024 | December 16, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 20-1897585
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2006
- Accounting year ends
- July
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Education (B990)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $4,177,120
- Income (IRS master file)
- $2,017,745
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | July 2025 | $2,017,745 | $2,878,224 | $4,177,120 | XML |
| 990 | July 2024 | $4,218,156 | $2,036,399 | $5,309,193 | XML |
| 990 | July 2023 | $1,678,377 | $1,598,407 | $3,119,879 | XML |
| 990 | July 2022 | $1,968,605 | $1,368,806 | $2,961,906 | IRS |
| 990 | July 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | July 2020 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | July 2019 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | July 2018 | – | – | – | IRS |
990-N: the IRS publishes only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years appear here as 990.tax collects the monthly files. 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS.
Questions about SMARTMEME INC
- What is the EIN of SMARTMEME INC?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of SMARTMEME INC is 20-1897585.
- Is SMARTMEME INC tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2006.
- Are donations to SMARTMEME INC tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does SMARTMEME INC file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of SMARTMEME INC due?
- The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending July 31, 2026) is due December 15, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did SMARTMEME INC last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended July 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of SMARTMEME INC?
- The 990 for the year ended July 31, 2025 names Angus Maguire.
- Who are the officers and directors of SMARTMEME INC?
- The 990 for the year ended July 31, 2025 lists 8 people; 3 received compensation from the organization, the highest $155,929 (Nayantara Sen, Executive Dir.).
- How much revenue does SMARTMEME INC have?
- On its 990 for the year ended July 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $2,017,745, expenses of $2,878,224 and total assets of $4,177,120 at year end.
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