American Society of Journalist and Authors Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 851516441
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2129970947
- Rating
- 56
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Professional Societies, Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $270,449
- Expenses
- $342,778
- Assets
- $261,590
- Liabilities
- $103,990
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- EMILY PAULSEN (PAST PRESIDENT)
- DARCY LEWIS (PRESIDENT)
- STACEY FREED (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- EMILY PAULSEN (PAST PRESIDENT)
- DARCY LEWIS (PRESIDENT)
- DAVID STEELE (DIRECTOR)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide educational opportunities for independent nonfiction writers and authors; to promote and defend the profession of independent nonfiction writers and authors; to exchange information and enhance awareness of the profession of independent nonfiction writers and authors; to assist and help independent nonfiction writers that are in severe financial distress and during times of national emergency.
What it reported doing in 2024
The foundation has established a writers emergency assistance fund(weaf) that helps established independent nonfiction writers andauthors by providing and awarding funding to eligible individuals whoare unable to work due to illness, disability, a natural disaster, severe financial distress, or an extraordinary professional crisis.
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 88% 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
MIXED - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 27
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 33.7%; rating input score 34
- Program expense ratio: 25.5%; rating input score 25
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: -26.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -12.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 33.7% of revenue deployed · 25.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $87K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $191K reported
- Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 25/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.