The Appraisal Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232493621
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2023477722
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,834,947
Expenses
$6,289,844
Assets
$12,124,632
Liabilities
$2,030,575

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David S Bunton (President (JAN-MAR)/Advisor (APR-DEC))
  • Kelly Davids (Senior VP (JAN-MAR)/President (APR-DEC))

Highest reported compensation

  • David S Bunton (President (JAN-MAR)/Advisor (APR-DEC)): $1,117,316 total reported compensation
  • Kelly Davids (Senior VP (JAN-MAR)/President (APR-DEC)): $296,462 total reported compensation
  • Edna Nkemngu (VP, Finance & Administrati): $237,473 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 Appraisal Foundation is to advance the valuation profession by setting standards of excellence, promoting education and upholding the public trust.

What it reported doing in 2024

Appraiser Qualifications Board: Reassessment of Qualification Project In 2023 the AQB launched a comprehensive reassessment of the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, focusing on college course, college degree, experience, and exam requirements. Prompted by stakeholder input, particularly regarding college degree requirements, the AQB issued a Concept Paper on Assessment of College Degree Requirements on May 28, 2024, and received 254 public comments by the July 27 deadline. A public webinar held June 6 also drew strong engagement, with 148 live attendees and over 100 views on YouTube. The project follows an open, participatory research model centered on transparency, collaboration, and public input. Its overarching goal is to determine whether any existing qualification requirements are nonessential and should be revised or removed. The AQB or the Foundation staff continued to provide updates by presenting on the work of the AQB at the following speaking engagements in 2024: * International Right of Way Association (IRWA) * South Dakota State University * Professional Appraisers Association of South Dakota (PAASD) * McKissock's Pro Series Webinars * Professional Appraisers Round Table (PART) * Appraisers Conference and Trade Show (ACTS) * Ohio Coalition of Appraisal Professionals (OCAP) PAREA In 2024 the first PAREA program launched: The Appraisal Institute's Licensed Residential (AI PAREA). Four additional providers are actively developing programs, and the AQB has received 12 concept reviews to date. Interest in PAREA continues to grow, with more than 4,000 individuals on the Foundation's informal tracking list. The AQB is pleased to report that 51 states and territories have indicated that they will accept completion of a PAREA program as having met experience requirements. As part of its outreach efforts, the AQB has presented on PAREA jurisdictions that have not yet indicated acceptanceincluding Guam, the Virgin Islands, and New Yorkto support their consideration of participation. The Course Approval Program The AQB continued to administer its Course Approval Program (CAP), a program designed to help state regulatory agencies approve qualifying and continuing education. As of December 31, 2024, there were approximately 252 CAP-approved courses. Updated National Exams In 2024 the exam performed as intended, and there was an increase in first time-test takers. The exam questions for the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examinations underwent an annual review by the AQB in 2024. A biannual review has been conducted by the AQB ever since the 2008 version of the Criteria went into effect, which included the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examinations requirements.To update the exam questions, the AQB engaged a group of appointed Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The AQB, their contracted exam writing experts, and these SMEs met in person in July to review exam questions and finalize new versions of the exams for each license classification. The new versions of the exams will launch on January 1, 2025. Degree Review Program In 2024 the AQB continued evaluating graduate and undergraduate degree programs in real estate to determine if their real estate courses meet the qualifying education requirements of the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (Criteria). As a result, programs from the following colleges/universities had degrees approved: * Mesa Community College * University of Cincinnati * University of Wisconsin * College of Charleston Since the beginning of this program, the AQB has approved a total of 30 undergraduate programs, 15 graduate programs, and 1 associate program. The AQB worked with several appraiser membership organizations to find ways to collaborate on future outreach. The AQB also continued outreach to education providers including minority-serving institutions and will continue their work with these institutions, including tribal and women colleges, in 2025. Cer

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.7%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 73%; rating input score 73; 19th 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: 8%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.93; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.7% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $4.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.