CREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION(A NONPROFIT CORPORATION)DECEMBER 31, 2022
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT AND
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Independent Auditors’ Report andConsolidated Financial Statements

Independent Auditors’ Report

1-2

Consolidated Financial Statements
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

3

Consolidated Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets

4Consolidated Statement of Functional Expenses

5

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows6

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

7 - 12

Independent Auditors’ Report
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSCREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION (A NONPROFIT CORPORATION)
Mountain View, California
OpinionWe have audited the consolidated financial statements of CREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION(Creative Commons) which comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as of December
31, 2022, the related consolidated statements of activities and changes in net assets, functional expenses,
and cash flows for the year then ended and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements.
In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of Creative Commons as of December 31, 2022, and the changes in its net assets and its cash
flows for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the UnitedStates of America.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States ofAmerica (GAAS). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’
Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements section of our report. We are
required to be independent of Creative Commons and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, inaccordance with the relevant ethical requirements relating to our audit. We believe that the audit evidence
we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Responsibilities of Management for the Consolidated Financial Statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial
statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America,
and for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation andfair presentation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether
due to fraud or error.
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management is required to evaluate whether there areconditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about Creative Commons’ability to continue as a going concern for one year from the date of this report.

San Francisco ● San Jose ● San Mateo ● Petaluma

Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as awhole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ reportthat includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute assurance
and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with GAAS will always detect amaterial misstatement when it exists. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting fromfraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentionalomissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material
if there is a substantial likelihood that, individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment
made by a reasonable user based on the consolidated financial statements.
In performing an audit in accordance with GAAS, we:xExercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.

x

Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements,
whether due to fraud or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks.
Such procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts anddisclosures in the consolidated financial statements.

x

Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an
opinion on the effectiveness of Creative Commons’ internal control. Accordingly, no such
opinion is expressed.

x

Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant
accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of theconsolidated financial statements.

x

Conclude whether, in our judgment, there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate,that raise substantial doubt about Creative Commons’ ability to continue as a going concern for areasonable period of time.

We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, theplanned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control-related
matters that we identified during the audit.

San Francisco, California
July 17, 2023

2

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

December 31, 2022
AssetsCash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, net
Prepaid expenses and other assets
Total assets$

5,978,680
6,505,393
71,346$

12,555,419$

22,728185,175
22,75028,709Liabilities and Net Assets
Liabilities:
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Deferred revenue
Long-term liabilities
Total liabilities

259,362

Net Assets:
Without donor restrictions
With donor restrictions

3,213,785
9,082,272

Total net assets

12,296,057

Total liabilities and net assets$

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
3

12,555,419

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Consolidated Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets

Year Ended December 31, 2022
Without Donor
Restrictions
Revenues:
Grants, net
Contributions
In-kind contributions
Program service fees
Special events income
Investment loss
Other income
Satisfaction of program restrictions$

1,657,818
244,663

Total revenues
Expenses:
Program services
Supporting services:Management and generalFundraising
Total expenses$

Net Assets, beginning of year$

5,097,449
321,519
36,517229,700
10,875(70)
89,261
2,597,331

18,750(2,597,331)

4,829,578

2,876,904

7,706,482$

2,551,880

2,551,880

1,512,186
251,228

1,512,186
251,228-

4,315,294

514,284

2,876,904

3,391,188

2,699,501

6,205,368

8,904,869

3,213,785$

9,082,272

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
4

Total
6,755,267
566,182
36,517229,700
10,875(70)
108,011-4,315,294

Change in Net Assets

Net Assets, end of year

With Donor
Restrictions$

12,296,057

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Consolidated Statement of Functional Expenses

Year Ended December 31, 2022

BetterInternet
Salaries
Employee benefits
Payroll taxes$

40,430
5,560
2,292

$

48,282
Accounting fees
Bank charges
Board cultivation and meetings
Consulting and design
Insurance
Legal fees
Licenses and fees
Membership and dues
Occupancy
Operations
Printing
Project support
Publicity and communication
Recruiting
Special events
Supplies
Technology
Telephone
Training
Travel and conferences
WebsiteTotal expenses

GlobalNetwork/

Licenses &PolicyCommunity

Stewardship

114,235
16,771
7,722
138,728

17,450128,456

70

96
69
662
448
4

200,888

4,400
310
434
525
1,403

1,282

$

Emerging
g&267,972$$

25,861
3,711
2,132

$

31,70475,243
10,037
5,743

OpenClimate$91,023

171,136
24,311
7,449

OpenCulture$202,896

720,635
66,31439,018Open
Education$

825,967

37,480

101
300
75

20
568
200

452

18
23,186

107

298,739

64,391

2,257$

93,393

1,103$

615,270

902,237

68,596
4,426
5,036

Total Program
Services$

78,058

150
27
1,400
567

20,78115

1553,784

267,9552,592$

150,268$

138,829

$

96
69
662
549
1,968
687
645,266
2,628
404
434
896
2,596
650
18
42,757
18,14653,062
39,98173,741
13,785
1,284
6,928
27,056
2,191
17,9003,758
6,830
26,151
5,102
59,231
3,066
19,071
110,103
54,051

2,551,880

1,512,186

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
5

650,111
177,693
87,18337,45036,458230$$

914,987

585
3,483
82

3,424

1,339,802
147,570
78,712

Management
and General

1,566,084

173
100

350

8,806
18,146$$

14,95629,725
1,233
299

113

110,006
14,5498,340

Training &Learning

132,895

15,829373,000
234
105

8

$

16,531

1,444
32,370202

13,660
1,891
980

Open
Journalism

Fundraising$

148,089
26,20010,083$

184,372

9,410

299
4,867
112
534
6,421
453
6,941
650
158
37,011

251,228

Total
Expenses

Total pp
SupportServices$

798,200
203,893
97,266$2,138,002
351,463
175,978

1,099,359

2,665,443

37,45036,45862,472
39,98173,741
13,785
1,284
7,227
31,9232,303
17,9004,292
6,830
32,572
5,555
66,172
3,716
19,229147,11454,05137,45036,473
330,427
39,981
73,837
13,854
1,946
7,776
33,891
2,990
663,166
6,920
7,234
33,006
6,451
68,768
4,366
19,247
189,871
72,197

1,763,414$

4,315,294

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Year Ended December 31, 2022
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Change in net assets
Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to net cash
provided by operating activities:
Net present value discount on long-term accounts receivable
Allowance for doubtful accounts
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
Prepaid expenses and other assets
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Deferred revenue$

3,391,188

32,00020,000(1,508,727)(17,303)(108,345)
30,227(3,250)Net cash provided by operating activities

1,835,790

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Forgiveness of PPP loan(342,523)

Net cash used by investing activities(342,523)

Net Increase in Cash

1,493,267

Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of year

4,485,413

Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of year$

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
6

5,978,680

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 1 -Organization:
Creative Commons Corporation (Creative Commons) is a Massachusetts nonprofit
corporation that develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure thatmaximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation. Because it can be expensive andburdensome to secure legal permission to use a copyrighted work published to the Web,
Creative Commons provides a set of free copyright licenses and public domain tools thatenable everyone to grant copyright permissions to their creative works so that they can belegally used by others. Creative Commons’ public domain tools allow creators to waive allrights to a work and place it in the public domain, or to mark a work that is already in the
public domain.
Creative Commons enables scientific research and innovation by enabling open accessjournals and the open exchange of scientific data. When a Creative Commons license isapplied to a journal or scientific data, the journal and data can be freely reused by others.
Creative Commons’ licenses and public domain tools are also used to make data anddatabases freely available. The Creative Commons public domain dedication tool is used toremove all copyright restrictions.
Creative Commons also provides the legal infrastructure that powers Open Educational
Resources (OER). OER are openly licensed educational resources that are developed byinstitutions, communities, and individuals to further universal access to education. Creative
Commons’ licenses enable educational materials to be translated for use around the world.
Creative Commons is also developing software and metadata standards to improve search anddiscovery of educational resources.
Creative Commons’ licenses and tools have been developed in consultation with legal experts
and Creative Commons’ affiliate institutions in over 85 jurisdictions. Nearly 2 billion
Creative Commons-licensed works have been published by authors on the Internet.
In 2012, a Canadian subsidiary, 0941176 B.C. LTD, was established to enable Creative
Commons to engage the services of Canadian-based individuals. Creative Commons is thesole shareholder of the subsidiary. A management services agreement is in place between theorganizations and provides the structure for provision of those services to Creative Commonsby the subsidiary through its employees. Its operations are reported in the consolidated
financial statements.

7

Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 2 -Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
a. Basis of Accounting and Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements of Creative Commons are prepared on the accrualbasis of accounting and in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America (U.S GAAP) specific to nonprofit organizations. The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of its subsidiary (see Note 1). All
material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. Foreign currency
gains and losses are recorded on the Consolidated Statement of Activities and Change in
Net Assets if material.
Net Assets Without Donor Restrictions – the portion of net assets that is neither time andpurpose nor permanently restricted by donor-imposed stipulations. These net assets areintended for use by management and the Board of Directors for general operations.
Net Assets With Donor Restrictions – the portion of net assets the use of which is limitedby donor-imposed stipulations that either expire by passage of time or can be fulfilled andremoved by actions of Creative Commons.
b. Estimates
Management uses estimates and assumptions in preparing the consolidated financial
statements. Those estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of asset andliabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and the reported revenues
and expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
c. Cash and Cash Equivalents
For purposes of the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, Creative Commons considers
all unrestricted highly liquid investments with an initial maturity of three months or lessat purchase to be cash equivalents.
d. Revenue Recognition
Unconditional promises to give, which include grants and contributions, are recognized
upon receipt of the promise and are recorded as increases in net assets without donor
restrictions or with donor restrictions, depending on the existence and/or nature of any
donor restrictions. When a donor-specified restriction expires (that is when a stipulated
time restriction ends or purpose restriction is accomplished), the net assets with donor
restrictions are reclassified to net assets without donor restrictions.
Unconditional contributions and grants receivable are recorded at net realizable value if
expected to be collected in one year and at present value if expected to be collected in
more than one year. No allowance for uncollectible receivables has been recorded basedon management’s evaluation of collections.

8Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Program service fees are recorded when earned.
Donated services are reported at fair value in the consolidated financial statements whenthose services (a) create or enhance non-financial assets or (b) require specialized skills,
are performed by people with those skills, and would otherwise be purchased by Creative
Commons. Donated services of legal services totaling $35,517 and web hosting totaling$1,000 were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2022. The value of the services isdetermined by using market rates for similar services. None of these donated services
were received with donor restrictions.
e. Income Taxes
Creative Commons is exempt from federal income taxes under Internal Revenue Section
501(c)(3) and from California tax under Section 23701(d) of the Revenue Taxation Code.
Creative Commons recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions
are not likely to be sustained. Management continuously evaluates tax positions reflectedin the Creative Commons’ tax filings and does not believe that any material uncertain tax
positions exist.
f.

Allocation of Functional Expense
Expenses are allocated directly to program activities if they can be specifically identified
with a program. If not specifically identifiable, expenses are allocated to Management
and General with the understanding that all indirect management costs are expended insupport of programmatic work.

g. Recent Accounting Pronouncements
AdoptedIn September 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued AccountingStandards Update (ASU) 2020-07, Presentation and Disclosure by Not-for-Profit Entities
for Contributed Nonfinancial Assets. This ASU changes the required presentation for inkind contributions. Separate presentation on the Consolidated Statement of Activities andadditional disclosure about how the in-kind gifts were utilized (in which program or partof management and general or fundraising), donor restrictions associated with the gifts
and valuation techniques employed are required under the new guidance. The ASU was
implemented in 2022 without significant effect on the consolidated financial statements.
h. Subsequent Events
Creative Commons evaluated subsequent events with respect to the consolidated financial
statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 through July 17, 2023, the date these
consolidated financial statements were available to be issued. There were no material
subsequent events that required recognition or additional disclosure.

9Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 3 -Accounts Receivable:
Accounts receivable consisted of unconditional promises to give at December 31, 2022 which
are expected to be collected as follows:
In one year or less
Between one and five years$ 2,732,815
4,000,000

Less net present value discount at the time of agreement execution
Contribution receivable$

Note 4 -

6,732,815(227,422)$ 6,505,393

Long-term Liabilities:
On May 20, 2020, Creative Common’s Canadian subsidiary 0941176 B.C. LTD received aloan in the amount of $40,000 Canadian dollars, or $29,710 American dollars, from the
Canadian government. Under the terms of the loan, certain amounts of the loan may beforgiven if they are used for qualifying expenses, as defined in the PPP, generally payroll,
payroll related costs and facilities costs. If Creative Commons repays 75% of the loan by
December 31, 2023, the remaining balance will be forgiven. If this does not happen, the fullamount must be repaid by December 31, 2025 and any unpaid portion at December 31, 2023
will begin accruing interest at 5% per annum.
On March 21, 2021, Creative Commons received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan
under the provisions of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,in the amount of $342,522. Under the terms of the PPP, certain amounts of the loan may beforgiven if they are used for qualifying expenses, as defined in the PPP, generally payroll,
payroll related costs and facilities costs. Creative Commons used the entire loan amount for
qualifying expenses. Subsequent to year end, on January 16, 2022, this loan was forgiven.

10Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 5 -Net Assets With Donor Restrictions:
Net assets of $ 2,597,331 were released during the year ended December 31, 2022 inaccordance with respective donor restrictions.
Net assets were restricted as to purpose and time as of December 31, 2022 as follows:

Note 6 -Open Culture/GLAM
Open Climate
Better InternetTime$ 3,897,006
4,584,480
129,541
471,245

Total$ 9,082,272

Pension Plan:
Creative Commons has a tax-sheltered annuity under IRC Section 403(b), which allows all
employees to contribute through payroll deductions. Creative Commons provides
discretionary matching contributions of 5% of annual salary for all employees who work 20
hours or more per week. Creative Commons’ contributions made during the year ended
December 31, 2022 totaled $104,042.

Note 7 -Concentrations of Risk:
Creative Commons maintains cash balances at several financial institutions which, from time
to time, exceed federally insured limits.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 80% of revenue, approximately$6,000,000, was from three donors, and approximately 90% of the gross accounts receivable,
approximately $6,000,000, is from one donor.

11Creative Commons Corporation (a Nonprofit Corporation)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 8 -Liquidity and Availability:
Creative Common’s financial assets at December 31, 2022 available to meet general
expenditures over the next twelve months were as follows:
Financial assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable within a year

$ 5,978,680
2,732,815

Total financial assets

8,711,495

Less amounts not available to be used within one year:
Net assets with donor restrictions
Add back net assets with restrictions to be met
in less than a year

(9,082,272)
2,021,579(7,060,693)

Financial assets available to meet general expenditures
over the next twelve months

12$ 1,650,802