Visitor Studies Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582015580
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2016, Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Albany, NY, USA
Phone
5186945530
Rating
39
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$70,232
Expenses
$48,595
Assets
$73,323
Liabilities
$18,623

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTINE REICH (PRESIDENT)
  • JULI GOSS (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • JASON ALLEN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MELISSA BALLARD (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CHRISTINE REICH (PRESIDENT)
  • JULI GOSS (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • JASON ALLEN (VICE 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-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The association is a membership organization dedicated to understanding and enhancing learning experience in informal settings through research, evaluation, and dialogue. We offer an array of services designed to foster evidence based practice

What it reported doing in 2025

Annual conference to help researchers, practitioners, policy makers, organizational leaders and funders advance

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% 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.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 7
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 5.8%; rating input score 6
  • Program expense ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 8

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 30.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.51; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.4% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 5.8% of revenue deployed · 8.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 6/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.