National Association of Counties Research Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
530241255
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029424255
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,884,512
Expenses
$9,154,226
Assets
$14,766,613
Liabilities
$9,918,379

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DENISE WINFREY (Immediate Past President)
  • JAMES GORE (First Vice President)
  • JD CLARK (Second Vice President)
  • MARY MCGUIRE (President)
  • MATTHEW CHASE (CEO/Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW CHASE (CEO/Executive Director): $843,610 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH STOUTAMIRE (Chief Administrative Officer): $430,496 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL MELGOZA (Chief of Operations): $278,160 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 ascertain, develop and distribute knowledge about county government for the education of the public generally and for the education and training of public officials and prospective public officials.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public affairs this department is responsible for county news with a focus on creating greater visibility of naco and county governments on capitol hill, while educating naco members about programs, products, and services provided by naco. County news is a biweekly publication circulated to more than 36,000 elected and appointed county officials across the country. County news informs county officials about what is happening in other counties and provides information about legislative and regulatory activities in Washington, dc, that affect counties and their residents. County news is also available on-line county news alert, an electronic newsletter distributed biweekly to 38,000 members highlights headlines in the current issue, and keeps them up to date on association news, programs and member services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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 - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.9%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 69.5%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 30.1%; rating input score 30; 9th 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; 66th 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: 23%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.61; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.9% of revenue deployed · 69.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $844K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $282K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.