American Society for Microbiology

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381616141
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029429269
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$51,295,584
Expenses
$50,751,379
Assets
$147,813,161
Liabilities
$21,482,866

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THERESA KOEHLER (PRESIDENT ELECT/PRESIDENT)
  • COLLEEN KRAFT (FORMER PAST PRESIDENT)
  • ALEXANDER MCADAM (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • VIRGINIA MILLER (PRESIDENT/PAST-PRESIDENT)
  • STEFANO BERTUZZI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEFANO BERTUZZI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $939,765 total reported compensation
  • ALLEN SEGAL (CHIEF STRATEGY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER): $422,911 total reported compensation
  • CATHERINE ORT-MABRY (FORMER CHIEF MKTG & COMMS OFFICER): $404,848 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 promote and advance the microbial sciences

What it reported doing in 2024

Scientic units - to create a successful mechanism for gathering collegial input and developing scientific priorities, asm established three scientific units organized around key scientific disciplines guided by the principle that science must serve humanity: 1. Asm health - the asm health unit will empower microbial scientists and partners to advance the field for the benefit of society, identifying emerging science across disciplines, in institutions large and small and without regard for regional and geographic boundaries. 2. Asm applied and environmental microbiology - the asm applied and environmental microbiology unit will help connect and promote the fields of microbiology in areas relating to the environment and ecology.3. Asm mechanism discovery - the asm mechanism discovery unit will drive innovation in the study of microbes and their interactions, harnessing expertise in the fundamental processes, dynamic relationships and evolutionary mechanisms that shape microbial life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 77% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 72.3%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.1%; rating input score 92; 24th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 1.1%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.91; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.6% of revenue deployed · 72.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $36.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $940K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.2M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 43 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.