Thread by @imastaah

All this talk about the NATA on #ATTwitter I have one main gripe with the NATA. They're broke. And not COVID broke. They're you're pre-pandemic broke bestie that always wants to go on vacation but then you end up at a KFC in Italy wishing you never came.

They dipped into the red in 2017 and apparently haven't figured it out since. Of course the pandemic wasn't going to be good for them. I wonder what that 2021 tax filing looks like smh. And then on top of that, the money isn't going all the places people say it is.

The AIP recommends that 60% of a nonprofits total expenses should be spent on program services rather than administration or fundraising. CharityWatch rates nonprofits that spend at least 75% of their income on mission work as efficient. How does the NATA line up as a 501c3?

If you squint really hard, you can see the amount of money that the NATA spends on lobbying & grants out (state orgs, NATA research, etc) at the bottom. Now maybe you're thinking it's in the "other" category. Nope that's stuff like travel, accounting, advertising, & insurance.

So the NATA is spending 10-15% of it's revenue directly on it's "mission", who's surprised people still don't know who we are? And in a twist of fate, the salaries that eat up so much of our dues, they're not even athletic trainers.

Not one person making 6 figures at NATA has ever been an athletic trainer or had a conection to the profession until their board role. The NATA basically operates like a for profit organization that can't make money, which explains the increases coming down.

All this to say, the concerns that are raised about the NATA are valid, just realize that they're not going to respond to any of your questions. Lastly, your state organization may use your money better than the NATA.

Here are sources for anyone who want it.

501c3 tax filings: projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…

PPP loan: projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba…

*your 🥲

The NATA reports 50 employees (and 800 volunteers) annually. That 2nd line is expenses to support those 50 employees w/ salary, benefits (pension, etc). They spend 3 times more on 50 people than they do supporting their 40,000 members.... Wild.

https://twitter.com/imastaah/status/1545421343767789569?t=O86eevQgvJf-8UInr168vg&s=19

If the NATA's reporting for 2021 looks anything like 2020 they will have lost a whole year of revenue in 5 years. The NATA is asking for more money w/ no indication they'd spend it differently. I'm an NATA member.

I share this because I see way to much backlash against people asking honesty questions. It would be hard to support an organization that is not solvent.
If this organization is not in the black after 2022.... What are they going to tell membership? Probably nothing.

CAATE isn't going anywhere: projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…

Board of Certification is like, "what is a loss"? projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…