American Dialect Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
636022420
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063341932
Rating
52
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$69,908
Expenses
$33,984
Assets
$546,709
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joseph Salmons (President Elect)
  • Kathryn Remlinger (Past President)
  • Patricia Cukor-Avila (President)
  • Grant Barrett (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Paul Reed (Exec Com)
  • Joseph Stanley (Exec Com)
  • Jessica Grieser (Exec Com)

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

Scholarship in American English and dialects

What it reported doing in 2025

Sponsoring an annual meeting in January, in conjunction with Linguistic Society of America. A Program committee selects about 30 presentations from about 60 proposals. The meeting include a Word of the Year event and a luncheon.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.2%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.2%; rating input score 92; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 51.4%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.09; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.4% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.2% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 11 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $31K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 42 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.