Zonta International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
361999220
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Oak Brook, IL, USA
Phone
6309281400
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,545,102
Expenses
$2,606,641
Assets
$9,733,300
Liabilities
$1,752,230

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SALLA TUOMINEN (PRESIDENT)
  • FERNANDA GALLO-FRESCHI (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • SANDRA VENN-BROWN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MEGAN RADAVICH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN RADAVICH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $223,739 total reported compensation
  • CATHLEEN FERGUSON (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $154,514 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Zonta international is a leading global organization of individuals working together to build a better world for women and girls. The international operations provide supporting services to zonta districts, clubs and members in more than sixty countries. The organization delivers advocacy, international service projects and educational programs and maintains affiliations and relationships that furthers zonta international's objectives. Zontians are focused on achieving gender equality in a world where women's rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide support to 32 districts, 1,070 clubs, and 25,600 members in 64 countries to improve the status of women through service and advocacy, work for the advancement of understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of members, promote justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and be united internationally to foster high ethical standards, implement service programs, and provide mutual support and fellowship for members who serve their communities, their nations and the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.9%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.5%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.73; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.9% of revenue deployed · 76.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $224K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.