Washington Tourism Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450636440
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
4254785350
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,310,354
Expenses
$8,092,302
Assets
$2,781,008
Liabilities
$675,995

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID BLANDFORD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID BLANDFORD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO): $300,164 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE MCKENZIE (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING): $160,750 total reported compensation
  • MIKE MOE (DIR. OF TOURISM & STRAT. PARTERSHIP): $152,459 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 sole purpose of the Washington tourism alliance is marketing Washington to tourists. In order to accomplish this, the activities of the corporation will include, but not be limited to advocating, promoting, developing and sustaining destination tourism marketing for Washington state.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Washington tourism alliance (wta) was formed in 2011 and is a 501(c)(6) not for profit organization. After the closure of the state-run tourism office, the wta was established by industry stakeholders with the sole mission of sustaining Washington state destination tourism marketing and other statewide, year-around programs that generate economic development, bolster industry businesses and communities (with a focus on rural and underserved communities) and foster visitation management. The wta procures and administers funds for statewide destination tourism marketing activities and implements a strategic statewide destination-marketing plan in addition to industry development and support and destination management programs. Programs include destination marketing campaigns that include advertising, paid media, social media, and other promotions, in addition to co-op marketing programs in which the tourism industry can participate. Additionally, a travel publicity program stimulates positive travel and features editorial coverage of the destination and businesses withing. The wta travel trade development program stimulates and expands tour product for Washington state in domestic and international markets through sales missions, promotions, and hosting of client and media visits. The destination development program strengthens (and helps recover from the pandemic) the state tourism industry; these programs include modest grants for technical assistance and sustainability, strategic development, community alignment and resource development sessions. The destination management program influences a beneficial balance of visitor volumes around the state by way of a recreational usage app, modest ads, public relations, travel advisories and traveler education on the importance of "responsible travel."

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 89% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 40th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $300K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 71 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 67 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.