Foreign Trade Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
950743100
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Phone
5627264580
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$60,999
Expenses
$76,014
Assets
$136,307
Liabilities
$2,103

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NICOLE WAINWRIGHT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • STEVEN LUNN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • NICOLE WAINWRIGHT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PATRICE LAFAYETTE (TREASUROR)
  • SEAN HILL (SECRETARY)

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 encourage and stimulate interest in international trade and business. To conduct high quality and timely meetings, educational courses, seminars and conferences for the purpose of encouraging and developing international trade. To cooperate with its members in matters relating to the growth and development of international trade, and provide informational trade updates and services, programs, and newsletters to its members. To publish and distribute worldwide an annual roster and directory, listing all firms and individuals who are members of the fta.

What it reported doing in 2024

To promote, foster, and encourage international commerce and economic growth in southern California and worldwide. To educate, stimulate interest in international trade and business. To conduct educational courses, seminars, webinars, to cooperate with members in matters of international trade, and to publish and outsource, since 2013, an annual roster of members under the title "who's who in trade."

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 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.6%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 47.7%; rating input score 48
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -24.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.79; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.7% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.2% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.6% of revenue deployed · 47.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $36K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 1 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Program expense ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.