United States Harness Writers Assoc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
116034843
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Dover, DE, USA
Phone
2074164757
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$101,700
Expenses
$77,464
Assets
$203,327
Liabilities
$420

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL CARTER (PRESIDENT)
  • HEATHER VITALE (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MELISSA KEITH (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GERALD CONNORS JR (SECRETARY): $5,000 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM MACDONALD (TREASURER): $1,000 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL CARTER (PRESIDENT): $250 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See sch o

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 annual hall of fame awards meeting & dinner held at the rosen centre in orlando, fl held on february 25, 2024 and published a journal. There were 275 people in attendance at the 2024 dinner. There are 191 active members in the organization plus 2 youth members and 3 associate members.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 87% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 51% for direct work, and 49% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.7%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 67.5%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98%; rating input score 98; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.8%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.7% of revenue deployed · 67.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $52K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 54/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.