Women in Cable Telecommunications

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363814358
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
2028274794
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,472,385
Expenses
$6,764,842
Assets
$19,608,334
Liabilities
$1,366,152

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIA BRENNAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA BRENNAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $861,110 total reported compensation
  • LESA FARIS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $320,706 total reported compensation
  • LAINE CULBREATH (EVP, FINANCE & ADMIN.): $245,661 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The wict network develops women leaders who transform our industry.

What it reported doing in 2025

Conferences and seminarsthe wict network offers a wide variety of conferences and leadership events throughout the year, as well as curated training seminars for professionals at all career stages. These events include the wict network leadership conference, the tech it out conference, the betsy magness leadership institute (bmli), the executive development series, and the rising leaders program.the leadership conference highlights cutting-edge business innovations and workplace solutions related to business strategy, human capital, productivity, psychological safety, and what it means to be a great leader in today's dynamic environment. The tech it out conference brings together experts from both inside and outside the industry to share insights on technology and leadership. These conferences provide dedicated time for professional development and networking, giving participants the opportunity to learn from one another and grow their leadership capabilities.bmli partners with top-ranked executive education institutions to offer a year-long, immersive experience for competitively selected participants focused on developing key leadership competencies and building a strong professional network. The executive development series is the premier professional development opportunity for mid-career professionals in media, entertainment, and technology, with a focus on cultivating executive presence and leading with confidence and authenticity. The rising leaders program (rlp) supports emerging leaders across the industry, helping them expand their impact, build high-performing teams, explore different leadership styles, and forge strategic alliances.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.9; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 74% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $861K · 33 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.9M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.