Feminist Frequency, the popular charitable organisation known for its Tropes vs Women in Video Games series, has finally filed an IRS 990 form for 2014. It raised a few eyebrows in the Breitbart Tech offices.
The 990 form is an annual submission that tax-exempt organisations are required to file with the IRS, and it is supposed to include information on the organisation’s goals, achievements, and finances for the year so that both the IRS and the public can see whether the organisation is following best practices.
Now that Feminist Frequency has filed their 990, albeit at the last possible moment, the internet is scrutinising its contents, with one Reddit post listing in detail every error and point of concern within the document.
According to the form, Feminist Frequency’s revenue went from around $18,000 in 2013, to over $400,000 in 2014, but despite this, there don’t seem to have been many advancements in the organisation’s structure or advocacy efforts.
Apart from the usual Tropes vs Women series, which aired just two episodes in 2014, there have been no new services or programs started by the charity in order to advance their goals, and the closest thing to progress seems to have been a t-shirt store that launched last month that currently features one design.
With no increase in the quality of videos – that is to say, with the lack of frequency in Feminist Frequency – it is easy to see why even those who have donated to the organisation are becoming critical.
The form also claims that host Anita Sarkeesian was the only officer paid during 2014 at a reported $18,885 a year, working 60 hours per week. Not only is it odd that only Sarkeesian was paid during the year, but working with this salary at those hours also indicates that she earns less than sweatshop workers in Los Angeles.
It is ironic that one of the most popular feminist organisations in America is not only doing nothing about the gender wage gap, but seems to be actively encouraging it.
Notorious Israel-hater and far-left activist producer for Feminist Frequency, Jonathan McIntosh, is absent from the form altogether. There is no mention of him throughout the entire document, despite reports that he runs Feminist Frequency.
Perhaps he was too busy writing Anita’s tweets while the form was being filled out, or maybe this is some cute nod to “diversity.” Pseudacademic Katherine Cross is the only other person listed on the form as an officer, but there is no mention of her being paid.
With revenue booming from under $20,000 to over $400,000 in a year, it is obvious that Feminist Frequency has outgrown its britches. But where is all the money going, if it’s not going on staff? What is Feminist Frequency actually doing?
The charity doesn’t take the time to document its activities, using just 25 per cent of the available space to write: “Feminist Frequency is a not-for-profit, educational organization that provides comprehensive analyses of modern media and advocates for the just treatment of all people online.”
Perhaps if challenged, Sarkeesian will put this down to the pernicious “girls filling out forms wrong” trope, but ultimately I doubt the IRS is into pop-culture criticism psychobabble.
Feminist Frequency is now a sizeable charity with a decent income. But to avoid questions about how it handles money, it needs to do a better job of explaining what its staff are actually up to.
And it should probably explain why Sarkeesian is paid such a pathetically small sum. None of the charity’s donors would object to her being paid a proper wage. But this pitiful $18,885 remittance looks like the product of creative accounting – and that can prompt closer scrutiny.
Charlie Nash is a British libertarian writer, memeologist, and child prodigy. You can follow him on Twitter here @MrNashington.
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