Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131624188
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
White Plains, NY, USA
Phone
9147611100
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,665,509
Expenses
$5,518,206
Assets
$3,840,461
Liabilities
$1,805,769

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RENARD JENKINS (PRESIDENT)
  • HANS HOFFMANN (PAST PRESIDENT, 22-23)
  • RICH WELSH (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID GRINDLE THRU 1019 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SALLY-ANN D'AMATO AS OF 1019 (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID GRINDLE THRU 1019 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $195,139 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS BAUSE MASON (DIRECTOR OF STANDARDS DEVE): $180,491 total reported compensation
  • SALLY-ANN D'AMATO AS OF 1019 (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $137,820 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Enabling the technical framework and global professional community that makes motion pictures, television, and professional media through our global society of technologists, developers, and creatives by setting industry standards, providing relevant education, and fostering an engaged membership community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Conferences - smpte holds technical conferences to bring together the best minds in the industry to explore the most exciting advancements in media and entertainment technology with industry change makers, a select group of cto's, chief engineers, content producers, and top students from around the globe. The smpte media technology summit is still the only industry event featuring peer-reviewed technical content, to ensure that the ideas presented are always relevant and accurate, from the experts in their fields.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 91% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 66.4%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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 8 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: 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: -18.3%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.8% of revenue deployed · 66.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 37 of 37 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 40 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $257K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • 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 scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.