American Academy of Achievement

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
756042129
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2028870000
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,534,631
Expenses
$3,753,081
Assets
$4,971,107
Liabilities
$2,807,731

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WAYNE REYNOLDS (PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN)

Highest reported compensation

  • WAYNE REYNOLDS (PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN): $1,044,241 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 American Academy of Achievement's mission is to bring together the world's most accomplished leaders to inspire the next generation.

What it reported doing in 2024

During fiscal years ending july 31, 2025 and 2024, the academy continued to expand its online internet presence via their website, www.achievement.org. The academy's redesigned website, which is compatible with mobile devices, is a virtual museum that features a gallery of achievement with exclusive video interviews of many academy members, a curriculum center for teachers and students, and a library that highlights books that changed the lives of academy members. The website allows the academy to reach millions of students and educators each year with their expansive library of living history presented through multimedia content.another significant activity of the academy is to provide educational content on apple podcasts. This application gives students access to the world's largest digital catalog of free educational content. The academy began providing multimedia content from its digital library in november 2010. During the fiscal year 2016, the academy launched a podcast series in conjunction with apple podcasts entitled "what it takes". The podcast features exclusive interviews with academy members and their personal paths to success highlighting the attributes they required to reach their great achievements, such as passion, courage and perseverance. The academy members featured on the podcast include george lucas, oprah winfrey, archbishop desmond tutu, justice ruth bader ginsburg, johnny cash, coretta scott king, and james michener. Since inception, the "what it takes" podcast, has received millions of downloads on apple podcasts.the academy has also published three ebooks (or electronic textbooks) on apple books, covering the topics of civil rights, creative writing, and social advocacy on the itunes u site. These ebooks feature video interviews of distinguished academy members and have been downloaded by more than 100,000 students and teachers during fiscal years 2025 and 2024.the academy also maintains a multimedia museum exhibit, at its Washington, d.c. Office, featuring the life stories of academy members and their personal paths to excellence.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.7%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.2%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 98.7% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 7 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.