Writers Guild of America West

Legal name: Writers Guild of America West Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951809455
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
(323) 782-4500
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$42,244,718
Expenses
$39,614,649
Assets
$149,074,055
Liabilities
$45,650,645

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

Leadership & pay

43 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELLEN STUTZMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CHARLES SLOCUM (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DAVID YOUNG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • REBECCA KESSINGER (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LISE ANDERSON (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • KATHERINE CHRISTOVICH (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELLEN STUTZMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $951,945 total reported compensation
  • CHARLES SLOCUM (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $568,566 total reported compensation
  • DAVID YOUNG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $565,969 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing professional writers in motion picture, television, streaming, news, and radio industries. It negotiates collective bargaining agreements, provides employment resources, and advocates for members' rights, including against discrimination and harassment. The Guild also operates the WGAW Registry for script registration and the Writers Guild Theater for events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 78% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 6.2%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.76; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $952K · 43 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.