The Phycological Society of America
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 430898177
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Lutherville, MD, USA
- Phone
- 9102324144
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $490,827
- Expenses
- $365,541
- Assets
- $3,713,937
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SHONNA MANNING (PRESIDENT)
- CHRISTOPHER LANE (PRESIDENT EL)
People named in this filing
- JULIE KOESTER (TREASURER)
- SARAH HAMSHER (SECRETARY)
- SHONNA MANNING (PRESIDENT)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote research and teaching in all fields of phycology.
What it reported doing in 2025
The phycological society of america (psa) was founded in 1946 to promote research and teaching in all fields of phycology. The society publishes the journal of phycology and the phycological newsletter. Annual meetings are held, often jointly with other national or international societies of mutual member interest. Phycological society of america student awards include the bold award for best student paper at the annual meeting, the new student poster award for the best student poster at the annual meeting. Other psa honorary awards include: the provasoli award for outstanding papers published in the journal of phycology; the prescott award for the best phycology book published within the previous two years; the norma j. Lang fellowship for early career scientist; and the award of excellence, a career achievement award for a living scientist with a record of sustained scholastic activity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 64
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 80
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 55.5%; rating input score 56
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 25.5%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.16; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 55.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $366K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and grants
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.