Western Association for College Admission Counseling

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953086724
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
La Crescenta, CA, USA
Phone
8185419296
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$910,579
Expenses
$802,004
Assets
$1,501,956
Liabilities
$3,325

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIO MATA (PRESIDENT)
  • KARLY BROCKETT (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • CATALINA CIFUENTES (PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEANNA KILGOUR (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $80,340 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 western association for college admission counseling supports and advances the work of counseling and enrollment professionals from California and Nevada as they help all students realize their full potential, with emphasis on freshman and transfer transitions to higher education and attention to access and equity for all students.

What it reported doing in 2024

Membership: the membership committee seeks committee members who have benefited from many years of wacac membership and are able to share with colleagues as wacac ambassadors. Committee members help by networking and promoting wacac to expand membership. Committee members and volunteers help with wacac tables at various professional development events like our share, learn and connect series, our cafecito program for spanish language students and their families and our admission summer institute. We especially seek to increase access to membership for public high school counselors, non-profit organizations, and community college transfer counselors. A sampling of committee projects includes: - calling and emailing targeted potential members - helping to organize membership professional development seminars - staffing summer institute and other conferences

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.3%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.9%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.3% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 30 of 30 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $641K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 31 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.