National Cyber-forensics and Training Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
743126209
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4128028000
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Computer Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,281,815
Expenses
$11,113,623
Assets
$21,681,748
Liabilities
$10,142,576

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MATT LAVIGNA (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATT LAVIGNA (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $374,520 total reported compensation
  • JAY KRAMER (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $309,540 total reported compensation
  • DAWN BRUNO (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $195,632 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The national cyber-forensics & training alliance (ncfta) is a non-profit corporation focused on identifying, mitigating, and neutralizing cyber crime threats globally. The ncfta was created by industry and academia for the sole purpose of conducting real time information sharing and analysis with subject matter experts (sme) in the public, private, and academic sectors.

What it reported doing in 2025

Technologythe technology program expense is the management of network it/software resources in support of ncfta and its partners.expenses $1,050,067 including grants of $0 revenue $0trainingthe training initiative is designed to better equip researchers with the tools necessary for identifying and combating the various threats that exist to their organizations. Ncfta offers training courses on the current cyber-threat landscape on both the clearnet and the dark web to law enforcement, industry, and academia. Training courses combine both lectures and hands-on work with ncfta personnel.expenses $343,484 including grants of $0 revenue $367,676cybercrime conference ("disruption") the ncfta hosts an annual conference ("disruption") that compliments the cyber-threat information sharing and trusted public-private collaborative environment. Disruption is an exclusive multi-track, cross-sector forum, over a three-day span, hosted in pittsburgh, pa. In addition to general and break-out sessions, the agenda includes industry specific working groups, training, round-tables, and numerous networking opportunities. What has always been consistent is the purpose of the event: to share knowledge and expertise around the most relevant cybercrime threats and actors of the day to ultimately affect a measure of disruption. Whether that means sharing or devising a defensive mitigation, wrecking malicious infrastructure, or leading to offensive law enforcement takedowns and arrests, the result is the same: disrupt the miscreants and everything around them.expenses $510,944 including grants of $0 revenue $438,639

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.95; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.8% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $8.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $375K · 16 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.