American Sail Training Association Dba Tall Ships America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237324566
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newport, RI, USA
Phone
4018357714
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Swimming & Other Water Recreation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$479,795
Expenses
$414,354
Assets
$914,258
Liabilities
$837,887

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • STUART GILFILLEN (Executive Dir.): $52,146 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 encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the north american public, and support education under sail.

What it reported doing in 2024

Conference registration and sponsorship revenue - astas annual conference on sail training and tall ships. Gathers ship masters and crewmembers, port representatives and festival managers, public officials, marine suppliers, naval architects, preservationists, environmentalists, program admin and educators for an inspriational and informational 3 day conference. Topics concerning vessel operations, regulatory issues, maangement, educational programming, and safety at sea are addressed each year as are sessions on media relations, marketing, funding, communications and port event organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.1%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.6%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.21; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.92; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.1% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $276K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 23 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.