EAA

Legal name: Experimental Aircraft Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
390917537
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Oshkosh, WI, USA
Phone
800-564-6322
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,861,538
Expenses
$49,040,747
Assets
$91,798,106
Liabilities
$48,496,523

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

Leadership & pay

38 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JACK PELTON (CEO/CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD)

Highest reported compensation

  • JACK PELTON (CEO/CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD): $851,092 total reported compensation
  • JAMES BUSHA (VP, MEMB, MARKETING, PUBLICATIONS): $412,030 total reported compensation
  • RICK LARSEN (VP, COMMUNITIES & MEMB PROG): $318,967 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

EAA is an aviation nonprofit that grows aviation participation through education and outreach ("The Spirit of Aviation"). EAA offers a comprehensive total rewards package that helps you live your best life, grow personally and professionally, and get rewarded for the results you deliver. When you add it all up, the total package provides the same results: your total rewards support you throughout all stages of your life and career. When you join EAA's team, you may be eligible for the following rewards: Compensation. EAA is a sought after organization to join with a competitive and unique benefit package which includes the EAA Flying Club, career advancement opportunities, fun perks, along with being immersed around passionate EAA Members and Volunteers Diversity Having a diverse workforce is critical to our association. We welcome a variety of opinions, ideas and perspectives to...

What it reported doing in 2024

Eaa provides flight experiences in vintage and historical aircraft at local airports to educate the public about the history and role of aircraft over time and inspire a future generation to engage in aviation. These aircraft serve as a living history that holds a remarkable connection to the past. Making these aircraft accessible to the public increases the public's knowledge about the role of aviation in commerce and security, the engineering advances that promoted aviation and the ways in which aircraft redefined world travel. This year over 59,000 flight experiences were provided and nearly 8,500 air tours were given on our aircraft that toured the united states. Tour stops are hosted by volunteers who are passionate about sharing stories about the planes on the tour and educating (continued on schedule o) the attendees about the importance of aviation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $43M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $851K · 38 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.