National Communication Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
356007147
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024644622
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,719,431
Expenses
$4,113,551
Assets
$8,732,867
Liabilities
$721,455

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARNEL NILES GOINS (PRESIDENT)
  • JEANETTA D SIMS (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TINA HARRIS (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WALID AFIFI (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • JUSTIN DANOWSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JUSTIN DANOWSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $252,477 total reported compensation
  • DANE CLAUSSEN (DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS & PROFESSIONAL): $182,931 total reported compensation
  • LASHAWN DUCKETT (DIRECTOR OF CONVENTION & MEETINGS): $172,315 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Advancing communication scholarship, teaching, and practice to foster a better world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Nca partners with routledge/taylor and francis to publish twelve academic journals, including communication and critical/cultural studies, communication and race, communication education, communication monographs, communication teacher, critical studies in media communication, communication and democracy, journal of applied communication research, journal of international and intercultural communication, quarterly journal of speech, review of communication, and text and performance quarterly. Nca also publishes a magazine and other items in-house.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 84% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.3%; rating input score 90; 26th 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: -10.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.12; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $252K · 16 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $489K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 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: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.