Women in Aviation International

Legal name: Women in Aviation International Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
371279395
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Dayton, OH, USA
Phone
+1-937-895-9015
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,440,849
Expenses
$4,026,901
Assets
$4,641,374
Liabilities
$962,358

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LYNDA COFFMAN (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LYNDA COFFMAN (CEO): $246,909 total reported compensation
  • KELLY MURPHY (DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS): $113,251 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To encourage women of all ages to be their best in aviation and aerospace.

What it reported doing in 2025

Scholarships: wai provides numerous scholarships for flight training, engineering, maintenance, and career advancement.harvard emerging leaders: in partnership with harvard university, a professional development initiative tailored for rising women leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries. Includes on-campus sessions at harvard. Participants earn a certificate from harvard's division of continuing education, enhancing their leadership credentials.girls in aviation day: a global event aimed at inspiring young girls to explore aviation careers through hands-on activities and mentorship.mentor connect program: a mentorship initiative that pairs experienced professionals with mentees to guide their career development.chapters and local events: wai has chapters worldwide that host local events, workshops, and networking opportunities.wai on air podcast: it is the official podcast produced by women in aviation international (wai), featuring indepth conversations with women and men across the aviation and aerospace industry. It highlights personal stories, career journeys, challenges, and achievements-all with the goal of inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals. Available on spotify, youtube, apple music, and amazon music.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 66% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $67.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 47th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 9.3%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 70.1% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $247K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $272K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.