The American Radio Relay League Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 066000004
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
- Location
- Newington, CT, USA
- Phone
- 8605940200
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $17,176,974
- Expenses
- $16,614,472
- Assets
- $47,874,100
- Liabilities
- $16,083,684
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID MINSTER (CEO/SECRETARY)
- RICHARD RODERICK (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID MINSTER (CEO/SECRETARY): $377,405 total reported compensation
- DIANE MIDDLETON (CFO): $275,909 total reported compensation
- ROBERT INDERBITZEN (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & INNOVATION): $197,084 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 purposes for which our corporation is formed are the following: the promotion of interest in amateur radio communication and experimentation; the establishment of amateur radio networks to provide electronic communications in the event of disasters or other emergencies; the furtherance of public welfare; the advancement of the radio art; the fostering and promotion of non-commercial intercommunication by electronic means throughout the world; the fostering of education in the field of electronic communication; the promotion and conduct of research and development to further the development of electronic communication; the dissemination of technical, educational and scientific information relating to electronic communication; and the printing and publishing of documents, books, magazines, news letters and pamphlets necessary or incidental to any of the above purposes.
What it reported doing in 2025
Advocacy: promote the use of amateur radio, especially as emergency communication in time of disaster. Monitor fcc regulations in regards to amateur radio on behalf of members. Monitor legislation as it relates to amateur radio to keep members informed of important changes.
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 83% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 80
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 75.4%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 98.5%; rating input score 98; 40th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.88; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 75.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $377K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.