Latin American Studies Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520882881
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4126487929
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Studies

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,464,190
Expenses
$2,986,971
Assets
$10,527,520
Liabilities
$1,958,958

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAXWELL CAMERON (PRESIDENT)
  • GISELA ZAREMBERG (VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT E)
  • JAVIER GUERRERO (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • PEREYRA-ROJAS MILAGROS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PEREYRA-ROJAS MILAGROS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $182,157 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on latin america, the caribbean, and its people throughout the americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate.

What it reported doing in 2024

Special projects: 1) ford-lasa special projects support miniconferences and small working groups, as well as transregional research initiatives.2) mellon seminars - this program is intended to foster innovation in latin american studies and enrich lasa congresses by supporting projects that reflect one or more of the following objectives: a) incorporate into latin american studies researchers whose primary geographic focus is on other regions of the world, thus adding comparative or connective dimensions to latin america-related work and/or introducing to the field methodological or analytical perspectives that have typically been applied elsewhere.b) challenge conventional geographic boundaries of latin american studies, for example by exploring opportunities for articulating research in terms of the americas, the atlantic, the pacific rim, or other geographic configurations.c) integrate into latin american studies theoretical and/or methodological perspectives drawn from state of the art research in core disciplines of the social sciences and humanities.

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 96% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.4%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $891.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 39th 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.52; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.