American Institute for Foreign Study Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 066100574
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Stamford, CT, USA
- Phone
- 2033995414
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Exchange, N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,294,173
- Expenses
- $4,159,329
- Assets
- $1,590,056
- Liabilities
- $486,525
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MELANIE FRENCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHELE KABEL (DIRECTOR): $193,459 total reported compensation
- LISA SCHACTER (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $142,662 total reported compensation
- MELANIE FRENCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $86,887 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our exempt purpose is to further international understanding through cultural exchange. The organization operates cultural programs whereby teenagers and students are brought to the united states under the auspices of the united states deparment of state and are introduced to the american way of life. An effort is also made to send teenage americans abroad to complement the foundation's activities within the united states.
What it reported doing in 2024
Operated student exhange programs sanctioned by the u.s. Department of state for foreign students wishing to visit the U.S.a.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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
SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 81
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 17 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.