American Affairs Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814814174
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6176214088
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Reported finances

Revenue
$967,638
Expenses
$812,645
Assets
$275,102
Liabilities
$348,013

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIUS KREIN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JULIUS KREIN (PRESIDENT)
  • GLADDEN PAPPIN (CLERK)
  • CHRISTOPHER LACONI (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To publish a periodical in online, digital, print, and/or other formats, available to a general audience, with original scholarly content matters of educational, literacy, and civil importance: to support and promote the conduct and dissemination of same,

What it reported doing in 2024

American affairs foundation inc. Publishes a quarterly journal of public policy and political thought, in print and digital editions. The journal will publish scholarly essays and research concerning topics of a civic educational, scientific, and/or literary character. The organization may occasionally provide funding for research supporting commissioned articles. The organization may host colloquia conferences, panel discussions, or other events for the discussion of topics related to public policy and political thought and associated scholarly themes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.27; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $722K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $328K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.