Korean Women’s Association

Legal name: Korean Women's Association

Overview

Mission

KWA partners with diverse communities to empower individuals to live safe and dignified lives. Kim Nam Hui, Korean wife of an American serviceman, formed KWA in 1972 after recognizing a need for other Korean wives on base to share meals and cultural connections. Today, the organization continues to grow, meeting the needs of over 20,000 people each year across the state of Washington. Board of Trustees The KWA Board of Trustees is passionate about KWA’s mission of providing multicultural, multilingual human service, regardless of race or ethnic background, to diverse community members through education, socialization, advocacy, and support. This passion drives our work, inspiring us to recognize KWA’s roots and history and to develop other Korean American women as community leaders an.

What it reported doing in 2024

Hotel olympus: hotel olympus apartment is a 49 residential unit and commercial space located in tacoma, Washington. Each building of the project was allocated low-income housing credits pursuant to IRS code section 42 (section 42), which regulates the use of the project as to occupant eligibility and unit gross rent, among other requirements. Each building of the project must meet the provision of these regulations during each of 15 consecutive years in order to remain qualified to receive the credits, even if disposition of the project by the owner occurs. The apartment manager works full-time and lives on site. She arranges community meals, assists tenants with understanding benefits for which they may be eligible, and refers them to other services that may help with their expendable income and connect them to opportunities for education and employment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911066806
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lakewood, WA, USA
Phone
253-441-4057 / 253-441-4058
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Senior Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$74,548,636
Expenses
$69,144,662
Assets
$56,828,491
Liabilities
$10,096,356

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 98.8%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.2%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 98.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $68.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $334K · 11 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CHERYL LEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $334,006 total reported compensation
  • HWAJA LEE (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $188,267 total reported compensation
  • GREGORY SCHAFFER (IHC DIRECTOR): $161,202 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024.