American Medical Writers Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
351058129
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Phone
2402380940
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,469,040
Expenses
$2,308,748
Assets
$5,757,822
Liabilities
$983,289

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • R MICHELE SAUER GEHRING PHD (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • SHAWN WATSON PHD (PRESIDENT)
  • KIMBERLY KORWEK PHD (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • ELISE ELLER PHD (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT (UNTIL 10/26/2024))
  • SUSAN KRUG MS CAE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SHARI RAGER (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN KRUG MS CAE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $222,540 total reported compensation
  • SHARI RAGER (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,591 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance excellence in medical communication by providing educational resources and an inclusive professional community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Publications: the amwa journal is a nationally circulated, peer-reviewed publication of the american medical writers association that aims to be the authoritative, comprehensive source of information about knowledge, skills, and opportunities in the field of medical communication worldwide. This includes medical writers, editors, visual communicators, marketers, health communicators, cme professionals, grant writers, and other professionals working with the field. In support of the mission of the american medical writers association (amwa), the amwa journal works to advance the broader profession through the publication of content that reflects the interests, concerns, and expertise of medical communicators. Its purpose is to inform, inspire, and motivate medical communicators.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.49; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $223K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.