The American Tinnitus Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930749558
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Vienna, VA, USA
Phone
8006348978
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ear and Throat Diseases

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,527,045
Expenses
$1,856,214
Assets
$10,567,387
Liabilities
$355,256

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATRICK LYNCH ESQ MBA (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICK LYNCH ESQ MBA (CEO): $184,196 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the american tinnitus association is to promote relief, help prevent, and research tinnitus cures, evidenced by its core values of compassion, credibility, and responsibility.compassion: evidenced in a spirit of hope reflected in the commitment to prevention, finding cures, and supporting those affected by the condition. Credibility: evidenced in accurate information from reliable sources, transparency in decision-making, and an earned reputation for trustworthiness.responsibility: evidenced in patient centered advocacy by a collaborative community of forward thinking leaders accountable to mission and members.

What it reported doing in 2024

National engagement and awareness events: for the fifth year, ata partnered with a national corporation to raise awareness of tinnitus and funds for research and support services. By collaborating with a well-known company, the effort facilitated awareness of tinnitus, its prevention and management, and the availability of ata's free resources and support. As a condition that few people are aware of until it impacts them directly or someone they know, such coordinated public outreach helps facilitate ata's mission of prevention, greater awareness, and cultivation of an attitude of compassion toward those suffering from tinnitus. Ata also partnered for a second year with a leading professional bass angler and celebrities to raise awareness of tinnitus and funds for ata. The Tennessee-based event attracted participants from across the u.s. To participate in the celebrity pro-am fishing tournament and concert. Both programs highlighted prevention of tinnitus and awareness of ata free public resources.musician and stage crew hearing conservation and outreach program: ata provided hearing conservation services to musicians and stage crews through targeted outreach at the Kentucky state fair and the key west songwriters festival. Services included free consultations with a music audiologist, hearing screenings, custom ear mold fittings, and at-cost musician earplugs. Ata also provided hands-on training for a doctoral audiology student interested in becoming a musician audiologist, which is critical for learning the specialized skills and patient engagement techniques required in this field. This program addressed the critical need for hearing protection education and specialized audiological care within the music industry, reaching at-risk professionals and raising awareness about noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus prevention."

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.9%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 39th 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 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: 59%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.69; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33.9% of revenue deployed · 72.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 19 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.