Southern States Sign Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 571085089
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL, USA
- Phone
- 8502240711
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $164,505
- Expenses
- $157,379
- Assets
- $103,090
- Liabilities
- $28,799
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GAWEN GRAHAM (PAST PRESIDENT)
- SCOTT HASSLER (PRESIDENT)
- MICHAEL SEIBERT (PRESIDENT ELECT)
- CHRISTINA WELTY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- ASHLEY VALVERDE (FL DIRECTOR)
- JOE GACEK (FL DIRECTOR)
- RICHIE GRANTHAM (GA DIRECTOR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
-to establish sound, ethical business practices to represent our industry with integrity and honor.-to elevate industry standards by providing continuing education promoting technical competency, safety, and sustainability.-to educate government officials and monitor legislative activity as it pertains to the sign industry.-to enhance the general welfare of members and their companies through scholarships and member benefits.-to synergize our communication and relationship with all members for the benefit and growth of our organization.-to share, to learn, to grow.
What it reported doing in 2025
Our scholarship program provides financial awards to member companies' employees/their dependent children. The winners are determined by a third party. Six $1,000 scholarships were awarded in 2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $142K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 18 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.