Cigar Assoc of America Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
135568722
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022238204
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,300,093
Expenses
$5,368,483
Assets
$2,083,663
Liabilities
$128,437

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Daniel Cotter (Vice President of Finance & Operations)
  • Scott Pearce (President)
  • Brian Fojtik (Senior Vice President, Govt. Relations (former))
  • David Ozgo (President (former))
  • Patrick Anderson (Senior Vice President of Govt. Relations)

Highest reported compensation

  • Daniel Cotter (Vice President of Finance & Operations): $279,861 total reported compensation
  • Scott Pearce (President): $255,190 total reported compensation
  • Brian Fojtik (Senior Vice President, Govt. Relations (former)): $228,801 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our vision is to ensure a strong, vibrant, and growing cigar industry. We achieve this vision through our threefold mission: (1) Championing member-driven advocacy to defend and protect the industry from harmful regulations and legislation. (2) Raising awareness of the positive economic impact and charitable contributions of our members and the industry. (3) Promoting policies that foster growth and deliver value for our members and the industry.

What it reported doing in 2024

FDA Litigation, State Litigation, Other Litigation, and Industry Regulation Monitoring and Response: Most of these expenses relate to ongoing litigation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2023, the association continued its legal and regulatory efforts with the FDA on behalf of its members. These legal services included engaging in discussions, educating, and informing the FDA about the cigar industry, explaining how our products are processed and manufactured, highlighting the unique challenges of regulating the industry, and emphasizing the impact that FDA regulations could have on our members and the industry as a whole. Other expenses in this category address litigation with local and state governments, focusing on tax issues, legislation, and sales bans that affect the cigar industry.

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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.7%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.3%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.7% of revenue deployed · 64.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 9 filed program accomplishments · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $280K · 30 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $756K reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.