American Chemical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
526054070
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
7034620599
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$143,401
Expenses
$75,224
Assets
$1,130,478
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Dr Tatiana Budtova (Chair)
  • Dr Michael Bortner (Chair-Elect)
  • Dr Wim Thielemans (Past Chair)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Leading and supporting innovation in cellulose & renewable materials by providing a forum for our members to excel in the chemical sciences and technology

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, CELL Division administered and presented the following awards: 1 Anselme Payen Award, 1 Young Investigator Award, 2 Graduate Student Awards, 3 student poster awards (no cash award, winners receive complementary banquet ticket so they can be recognized at the banquet), 2 student travel awards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.4%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 47.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.03; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.4% of revenue deployed · 60.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $45K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.