Executive Compensation at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is a Washington, CD-based non-profit tax-exempt 501 (c) (6) – a business association – representing “90% of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world.”

The IDFA reported total revenue of $7.8 million for the year ending June 30, 2017 (down 23% from the prior year when $10.2 million was reported).  Revenue came primarily from two sources:  membership dues ($4.6 million) and training and education programs ($2.2 million).  Expenses were $8.5 million and consisted primarily of three:  compensation ($5.3 million), office-related expenses ($1.6 million), and conferences and trade shows ($1.3 million).

IDFA spent $700,000 more than the organization received which resulted in the net fund balance decreasing from $1 million to about $300,000.

As stated above, compensation is the largest expense for IDFA.  With 35 employees who were compensated $5.3 million, the average compensation was $151,400.  However, only 9 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation which means there were some very highly compensated employees. The 8 most highly compensated employees were reported to be:

• $950,001:  Constance E Tipton, President and CEO
• $430,504:  Dave Carlin, SVP
• $422,535:  Clay Hough, Senior Group VP
• $282,651:  Neil Moran, SVP
• $269,458:  Cary Frye, VP
• $228,904:  Ruth Saunders, VP
• $213,271:  Robert Yonkers, VP
• $151,299:  Michael Dykes, President and CEO

The 8 most highly compensated employees listed above received nearly $3 million, which equates to an average compensation of $375,000. If the total number of employees (35) and total compensation ($5.3 million) were adjusted to exclude the 8 most highly compensated employees and their compensation ($3 million), then 27 employees received $2.3 million, which equates to an average compensation (of the non executive team) of $85,200.

3 of the 8 (38%) most highly compensated employees are female while 5 of the 8 (62%) are male. The most highly compensated employee is a female and she received nearly $1 million in compensation.

The IDFA paid for companion travel and health and social club dues or initiation fees. See Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information on the Form 990 (link below) for more information.

5 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation:

• $240,000:  The Russell Group of Arlington, VA for lobbying
• $184,285:  Hogan Lovells of Washington, DC for legal work
• $181,150:  Leading Authorities, Inc. of Washington, DC for video production
• $179,065:  Graves Show Productions of Brookeville, MD for Audio Video Management and Staging
• $114,063:  Calibre CPA Group of Bethesda, MD for audit

In summation, the IDFA is a business association whose membership dues are primarily spent compensating the staff, including the President of the organization nearly $1 million annually, paying for office-related expenses, and for conferences and trade shows. Revenue was down 23% in 2017 over the prior year and the organization spent $700,000 more than they raised (yet IDFA paid for companion travel and health or social club dues or initiation fees) which resulted in the net fund balance (or what some refer to as the endowment) declining to about $300,000.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2016) for the year ending June 30, 2017, click here.