The Copyright Society of the USA

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
136159787
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123546401
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,090,861
Expenses
$1,202,621
Assets
$900,205
Liabilities
$360,405

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL COOPER (PRESIDENT (FROM JUNE))
  • CASEY M CHISICK (PRESIDENT (THRU JUNE))
  • THEODORE CHENG (V.P./PRESIDENT-ELECT (FROM JUNE))
  • KAITLAND KUBAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAITLAND KUBAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $140,687 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 copyright society's mission is to foster interest in and advance the study and understanding of copyright law in literature, music, art, theater, motion picture, television, computer software, architecture, and other works of authorship, and their distribution through both traditional and new media.

What it reported doing in 2024

For over seventy years, the copyright society has provided outstanding opportunities for interaction with all facets of the copyright law community. In addition to offering a variety of continuing legal education webinars throughout the year, the organization holds national and international events, such as the donald c. Brace memorial lecture, the copyright+technology conference, and the midwinter and annual meetings. The organization publishes the "journal of the copyright society", the world's leading peer-reviewed journal exclusively devoted to the subject of copyright law, and awards the annual seton award and award for excellence in creativity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.7% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $141K · 35 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.