American Society of Plant Biologists

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
530258999
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Rockville, MD, USA
Phone
3012960924
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,909,625
Expenses
$6,802,159
Assets
$22,587,024
Liabilities
$4,094,542

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HONG MA (PRESIDENT)
  • KENT CHAPMAN (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • LEEANN THORTON (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • CRISPIN TAYLOR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CRISPIN TAYLOR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $288,745 total reported compensation
  • CLARA WOODALL (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $245,659 total reported compensation
  • MARK JAMES (SENIOR MANAGER, IT): $183,956 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promote the growth and development of plant biology, to encourage and publish research in plant biology, and to promote the interests and growth of plant scientists in general.

What it reported doing in 2024

Publications - oxford university press (oup) produce and disseminate two of aspb's journals - plant physiology and the plant cell. A third journal, plant direct, is published in partnership with the society for experimental biology and wiley. Plant physiology primarily publishes full-length papers containing new results in plant physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics, synthetic and systems biology, and environmental biology of plants and associated organisms. The plant cell publishes cutting-edge research papers in cellular, molecular, and developmental biology of plants. Plant direct covers all of these areas; it is a sound science, open access journal. In 2024 plant physiology published four focus issues, and the plant cell published two. Aspb also publishes a quarterly print and online newsletter (aspb news) and a weekly email newsletter (the signal) that include general society news items, profiles of prominent plant scientists, and other information of value to the community it serves. In prior years, aspb has also self- and co-published a number of text books related to various aspects of plant biology.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 79% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.32; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.2% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $669K reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.