Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521513535
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
7035331155
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Military, Veterans' Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,583,933
Expenses
$5,419,029
Assets
$13,342,040
Liabilities
$2,685,775

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CW5 PHYLLIS J WILSON USA RET (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CW5 PHYLLIS J WILSON USA RET (PRESIDENT): $177,728 total reported compensation
  • MARY CLARE TOMASETTI (CHIEF OF STAFF): $143,970 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINA WENDALL (DIRECTOR OF REGISTRATION): $107,363 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to educate and engage the public in the past, present and future of women's military service. Supported by our collections, our innovative exhibitions and public programs, we educate and inspire visitors with stories of women's service and leadership.

What it reported doing in 2025

See schedule othe foundation's largest program service, the memorial education center, is the only national historical repository documenting the contributions and service of all military women. Welcoming more than 100,000 visitors annually, we educate and inspire through innovative and interactive exhibitions using our unique world-class collections. Beyond our exhibits, the memorial education center offers engaging programs and events for all generations. Our theater hosts free educational programs and film screenings of major documentaries that highlight the service of military women, including "the six triple eight: no mail, low morale" the amazing story of the only all-black army postal battalion in world war ii. Educational tours, meanwhile, are often based on visitor characteristics for individuals, honor flights, school groups, and both domestic and international tour groups. Due to the global pandemic, we leveraged digital technology, expanding our educational programming to a global audience. Digital technology also enabled new programming, such as "herstory," where we interview and highlight the stories of military women whose careers and contributions provide inspiring and valuable lessons in leadership and perseverance. National outreach: in addition to virtual/digital efforts to extend our outreach, we also have volunteer ambassadors in each state who are able to engage locally with their communities and veteran organizations to provide education on military women's service and its impact on our nation's history.thought leadership: highlights from our leadership development efforts, mwm partnered with booz allen hamilton and women in defense to present an online conversation with women leaders from across with defense space to learn how women service members can transition into a civilian defense career and why in-demand tech positions especially should be considered. We also partnered with comcast/nbcuniversal, the memorial to host cnbc's "fast money halftime report" which brought together a panel of active and retired military and military families to discuss leadership, service and pathways to successful personal and financial health.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.1%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -18.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.46; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.1% of revenue deployed · 79.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 20 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.