World Cube Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823825954
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
8056016023
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Amateur Sports Competitions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$721,545
Expenses
$475,003
Assets
$796,309
Liabilities
$1,741

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • ETHAN PRIDE (CHAIR/EXE DIR)
  • BLAKE THOMPSON (SECRETARY)
  • KERRIE JARMAN (VICE CHAIR)

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

The World Cube Association governs competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as twisty puzzles. The most famous of these puzzles is the Rubiks Cube, invented by professor Rubik from Hungary. A selection of these puzzles are chosen as official events of the WCA.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our goals - The World Cube Association wants to bring opportunities for community membership and leadership to young people around the world through increasing the accessibility of our twisty puzzle competitions. The World Cube Association has had over 200,000 unique competitors across 158 different regions and we are not planning on slowing down anytime soon The cubing community has been growing steadily since our founding in 2004 and we want to encourage this to continue into the future by increasing the accessibility of competitions to new areas. In the future, we hope to support our community even more through collaborations and outreach to those who care about puzzles. Every two years, we sanction the competition that ultimately determines the world champion. These events require extremely careful planning by a number of volunteers, as well as a large financial commitment to reserve the venue and make necessary preparations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.9%; rating input score 46
  • Program expense ratio: 70.2%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34.2%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 66% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 45.9% of revenue deployed · 70.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $334K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.