Mutual Fund Directors Forum

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The Mutual Fund Directors Forum enhances the governance of u.s. Registered funds by educating independent Directors and providing them with a voice in key federal policy issues.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
88¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 11 volunteers and 6 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $515K a year · 17% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
88%
of spending
Looks good: 88% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.5M
to officers and key staff · 48% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 48% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
27 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 27.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Liabilities
$2.3M
29% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 29% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 12 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 12 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$3.3M
+8% vs prior year
Spent
$3.1M
To programs
88%
Net assets
$5.8M
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$3.3M
FY2025▲ +8%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$2.7M
FY2022$2.8M
FY2023$3.1M
FY2024$3.1M
FY2025$3.3M
Expenses
$3.1M
FY2025▲ +10%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$1.8M
FY2022$2.5M
FY2023$2.2M
FY2024$2.9M
FY2025$3.1M
Net assets
$5.8M
FY2025▲ +3%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$4.1M
FY2022$4.5M
FY2023$5.3M
FY2024$5.6M
FY2025$5.8M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 2003.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

88 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 88% · $2.8M Management & general 12% · $388K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

17 people listed on the 990; $1.5M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$466,197Pt VII · Sec A
$302,686Pt VII · Sec A
EVP/Gen Counsel/Secretary
$284,472Pt VII · Sec A
Counsel
$253,742Pt VII · Sec A
Chief of Staff
$187,574Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Carolyn McPhillips’s $466K as President is at the 99th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Carolyn McPhillips$466,197$486,811$409,261$408,772$357,157
Dianne Descoteaux$302,686————
David Smith JR$284,472————
David B Smith—$281,092$263,113$271,190$250,000
Joanne Skerrett——$111,058$275,468$250,000
Sara Vargo$253,742$253,336$230,735——
Susan Ferris Wyderko————$209,169
Young Hee Kim$187,574$181,172$170,119$176,693$180,680

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Educates fund directors and advocates for their policy voice to improve U.S. registered fund governance.

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1 program · $2.8M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Member Education & Support

MFDF continued to provide tailored educational resources and networking opportunities to independent directors of registered funds and fund CCOs. These offerings, including interactive conferences, webinars, whitepapers, and working groups of directors, are designed to assist boards in fulfilling their fiduciary duties to the funds they…

$2.8Mprogram expense

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$3.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$313K
Money outPt IX
$3.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.8M
Managementcol C$388K
Owns and owesPt X
$5.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$7.1M
Total assetsLn 16$8.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.3M
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a12
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$313K
Total revenueLn 12$3.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$186K
SavingsLn 2$6.9M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$7.1M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$39K
Other assetsLn 15$742K
Total assetsLn 16$8.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.3M
Net assetsLn 32$5.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 56
VolunteersI 611
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.9M$7.1M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$49K$39K
Total assetsLn 16$8.1M$8.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.5M$2.3M
Net assetsLn 32$5.6M$5.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$852K$759K$93K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$920K$819K$100K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$60K$53K$7K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$101K$90K$11K
Payroll taxesLn 10$100K$89K$11K
Legal feesLn 11b$10K$10K
Accounting feesLn 11c$69K$69K
Investment management feesLn 11f$12K$12K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$111K$99K$12K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$37K$33K$4K
Office expensesLn 13$51K$43K$7K
Information technologyLn 14$107K$96K$12K
OccupancyLn 16$176K$157K$19K
TravelLn 17$71K$64K$8K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$409K$409K$721
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$51K$45K$6K
InsuranceLn 23$7K$7K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.1M$2.8M$388K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Oct 22, 2025 $3.3M$3.1M$202K$5.8M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Oct 25, 2024 $3.1M$2.9M$248K$5.6M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Oct 17, 2023 $3.1M$2.2M$833K$5.3M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Oct 24, 2022 $2.8M$2.5M$387K$4.5M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 9, 2021 $2.7M$1.8M$906K$4.1M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,346,276 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $0$0
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,912,953$3,033,163
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $192,575$313,113
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $3,105,528$3,346,276
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,753,503$2,032,686
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,104,497$1,111,540
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,858,000$3,144,226
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $247,528$202,050
Part VI · Governance 11 of 12 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body12
VI-1b Independent voting members11
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,346,276 across 3 lines filed
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $3,033,163$3,033,163
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $313,113$313,113
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $3,033,163 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $313,113$3,346,276
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,144,226 across 17 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $759,108 · Management $93,079$852,187
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $819,363 · Management $100,467$919,830
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $53,184 · Management $6,522$59,706
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $90,313 · Management $11,074$101,387
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $88,700 · Management $10,876$99,576
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $10,086$10,086
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $68,583$68,583
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $11,593$11,593
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $98,659 · Management $12,094$110,753
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $33,030 · Management $4,049$37,079
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $43,392 · Management $7,486$50,878
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $95,726 · Management $11,738$107,464
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $156,904 · Management $19,239$176,143
IX-17 TravelPrograms $63,625 · Management $7,801$71,426
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $408,702 · Management $721$409,423
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $45,396 · Management $5,566$50,962
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $7,150$7,150
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,756,102 · Management $388,124 · Fundraising $0$3,144,226
Part X · Balance sheet $8,124,472 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $139,946$186,123
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $6,775,393$6,916,807
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $30,834$1,074
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $88,744$162,738
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $49,259$38,692
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $115,569$77,200
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $894,023$741,838
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $8,093,768$8,124,472
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $43,802$21,611
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $1,416,479$1,482,692
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,015,415$843,762
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,475,696$2,348,065
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $5,618,072$5,776,407
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,618,072$5,776,407
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $8,093,768$8,124,472
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,776,407 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$3,346,276
XI-2 Total expenses$3,144,226
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$202,050
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,618,072
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$43,715
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$5,776,407

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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