Fencers Club Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132959888
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2128076947
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,031,425
Expenses
$1,493,139
Assets
$12,512,783
Liabilities
$9,004,805

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHLEEN RECKLING (President)
  • DENIS TOLKACHEV (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID NIUMATAIWALU (Executive Dir.): $151,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fencers club is dedicated to promoting excellence is fencing, academics, and character. We actively support a culture of sharing by performing community services that extend beyond fencing; provide the highest level of facility and instruction for the sport of modern fencing; promote social and athletic interaction of its members through the sport of fencing; provide space and atmosphere where the sport of fencing is promoted and enjoyed by all ability levels and all ages, inspire and assist our student-fencers to achieve at the highest levels in fencing and in academics; promote a culture of sharing and community outreach through fencing-related activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fencers Club provided fencing lessons and other member services to 500 active members in fiscal year 2024. We provided discounts to members and the community at large in line with the clubs mission to promote fencing, learning, character development, and community service. Some of the discounts given were to members in need, the Peter Westbrook Foundation, and training camps for competitive fencers from across the country and from abroad. There is also the public school athletic league program, where all students who fence in public schools are welcome to the club to be coached by one of our coaches at a 75% discount. The club also provides free fencing to military veterans to give them an opportunity to integrate into the broader community through fencing, mentoring, and sharing. The goal of this program is to inspire veterans and service members to excel in fencing and to share their military experiences in order to make a positive and meaningful impact in the broader community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 84.2%; rating input score 84; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -44.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.38; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.