Waters Center for Systems Thinking

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
832041181
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
4125798903
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,309,739
Expenses
$1,147,574
Assets
$1,644,330
Liabilities
$28,147

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TRACY BENSON (CEO AND PRES)

People named in this filing

  • TRACY BENSON (CEO AND PRES)
  • SHERI MARLIN (CHIEF LEARNI)
  • TRAVIS JONES (TREASURER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to help people develop as systems thinkers. We aim to increase the number of schools, districts and organizations that are actively incorporating systems thinking into teaching, leading and learning. Although systems thinking is rooted in complex theory and analytics, we make systems thinking concepts easy to understand and applicable to real-world settings and challenges. We are dedicated to increasing the capacity of educators, as well as community and business leaders to deliver lifetime benefits to others through the effective application of systems thinking. From the classroom to the boardroom, our aim is to ensure that all children and adults have the opportunity to develop their systems thinking capacities so they can become successful in school, work and life.

What it reported doing in 2024

The wcst uses a set of habits, concepts and tools to make systems thinking accessible to everyone. This instructional toolbox is the foundation of our approach to helping people become systems thinkers. Wcst has worked with people from around the world, with methods that effectively benefit and support people from diverse cultures, age groups and work places. Our offerings include: -coaching and support structures for adopting and implementing systems thinking into organizations, schools, and communities; -a range of systems thinking professional development options from introductory to advanced -customized systems thinking integration plans created for specific desired outcomes; -multi-day learning events, systems thinking training, institutes, and forums offered both virtually and in person. -an online learning platform, the thinking tools studio, with a wide array of offerings including courses on the habits, tools, and archetypes, resources, templates, lesson plans, and facilitation guides.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 43
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.7%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 50.3%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.