Advertising Research Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 130417765
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2127515656
- Rating confidence
- Limited
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $10,589,011
- Expenses
- $10,507,125
- Assets
- $8,822,392
- Liabilities
- $4,805,826
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
28 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SCOTT MCDONALD (BOARD MEMBER/PRES & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- SCOTT MCDONALD (BOARD MEMBER/PRES & CEO): $550,896 total reported compensation
- PAUL DONATO (CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER): $319,180 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL HEITNER (CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER): $300,001 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The arf's mission is to further, through research, the scientific practice of advertising and marketing. The arf is the preeminent professional organization focused on creating and championing unbiased high-quality research on advertising, marketing, and media.
What it reported doing in 2024
Curated research: the advertising research foundation curates industry research and performs independent research which is distributed through publications, workshops, and conferences to its members and the advertising research community at large.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 87
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.1%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $551K · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.