Romance Writers of America Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760033577
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
8327175200
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$495,122
Expenses
$891,242
Assets
$507,950
Liabilities
$299,584

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Clair Brett (President)
  • Leslie Scantlebury (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Leslie Scantlebury (Executive Director): $126,382 total reported compensation
  • Brooke Wills (Treasurer): $500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance career-focused romance writers' professional and common business interests through networking and advocacy.

What it reported doing in 2022

Industry Promotion / Membership Support Services: RWA's 2,000 members help promote a positive and professional image of romance writers and their works and romance fiction. Members can access up-to-date industry news about agents, publishers, and popular fiction trends. Members suffering financial difficulties can apply to the Perseverance Fund for a free year of dues or one of the various conference scholarships offered. Romance Authors Mentorship Program (RAMP): This program connects experienced indie and traditionally published RWA members with unpublished mentees for a 16-week period. During this time, they work closely together to revise a full manuscript and write a query letter, 50-word pitch, or back cover blurb. The program culminates in two events: a RAMP Pitch Showcase and an Indie Author Weekend, and mentees are encouraged to participate in both.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 86.3%; rating input score 86; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -80%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.