The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 274395855
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2026848460
- Rating confidence
- Limited
- Sector
- Boards of Trade
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,067,043
- Expenses
- $9,171,074
- Assets
- $7,725,742
- Liabilities
- $3,463,447
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
49 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PETER S GORDON (PRESIDENT)
- MARGARET G LODISE (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
- MELISSA J WILLMS (VICE PRESIDENT)
- SUSAN D SNYDER (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- KURT A SOMMER (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT (TO MAR '25))
- DEBORAH O MCKINNON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DEBORAH O MCKINNON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $541,185 total reported compensation
- DYLAH E WALLENIUS (MEETINGS DIRECTOR): $196,795 total reported compensation
- REBECCA VANDALL (DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING): $172,208 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of professional responsibility; and cooperate with bar associations and other organizations with similar missions.
What it reported doing in 2024
Regional meetings of actec fellows from states and regions to discuss estate and trust law.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 98% 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: 51
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th 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: 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: -1.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 41 of 41 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $541K · 49 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.5M reported
- Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.