The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Their mission remains the same as it was in the beginning:
The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) is an autonomous, non-profit organization comprised of state regulatory boards and agencies that regulate the massage therapy profession. All revenue collected by the organization is used to enhance FSMTB programs and provide support to FSMTB Member Boards in fulfilling their responsibility of protecting the public.
The mission of FSMTB is to support its Member Boards in their work to ensure that the practice of massage therapy is provided to the public safely and competently.
As non-profits have a different filing schedule than the rest of us, this 990 filing is for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, ending June 30, 2023 (the form is labeled as 2022), and is published on ProPublica. The FSMTB is a 501(c)(3) organization. As of this writing, the only states that are not members are Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Wyoming, Minnesota, the US Virgin Islands, and Kansas. The US Virgin Islands, Maine and Connecticut accept the MBLEx, although they are not FSMTB members. Wyoming, Minnesota, and Kansas have no statewide licensing to date. Vermont has registration. California is a member of FSMTB, although there is no exam required there at all and they have voluntary certification, not licensing, issued by the California Massage Therapy Council.
I was only able to access the fiscal years from 2012 going forward on ProPublica. The revenue of FSMTB has not varied much over the years. For the past 12 years’ filings, their incomed was relatively static at $5M +, except for the fiscal years 2016 and 2017, when it was over $7M. In all years, the majority of income is from the fees collected for taking the MBLEx, which currently costs $265. If one fails and retakes the exam, it’s $265 for each retake. This filing’s total revenue was $5,588,490; $5,273,753 of that was from MBLEx fees. Other revenue includes investment income, although the 2022 filing showed a loss of $-25,833. On their previous filing, investment income was $342,911.
The expenses of the Federation for this filing includes 24 employees, and while their 75 volunteers are not paid per se, if they are required to attend meetings such as those for test item writers, their expenses are paid for travel, lodging, and meals. Total salary expense for this filing was $1,754,993, including that of Executive Director Debra Persinger, who earned $367,261 in base compensation, a $10,000 bonus, $74,504 in other compensation, $62,200 in retirement compensation, and $64,743 in non-taxable benefits, for a total of $578,708. $50,000 of that was reported as deferred from the previous filing.
Expenses of the FSMTB include salaries, rent, utilities, office supplies, printing costs, advertising, technology, insurance, maintenance, investment expenses, cost of holding FSMTB meetings and attending meetings and massage conventions, accounting, and the big one, paying Pearson Vue to administer the MBLEx. About 20,000 people take the exam in one year’s time, with about 20% retaking the exam at least once. Pearson Vue also charges test takers an additional $20 to administer the exam.
Revenue minus expenses for this filing equals $812,688. The FSMTB also show $18,446,702 in assets and only $515 in liabilities.
All in all, the FSMTB is in sound financial standing.