American Institute of Iranian Studies

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237004865
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2128744094
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Academic Exchange

Reported finances

Revenue
$560,213
Expenses
$125,367
Assets
$937,246
Liabilities
$2,057

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR LINDA KOMAROFF (Vice President)
  • DR ANNE BETTERIDGE (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERICA EHRENBERG (Executive Direc): $52,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promote scholarly research of iran and the persian language primarily by awarding competitive travel grants for research in iran and countries with relevant research resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Promoted scholarly research of iran and the persian language primarily by awarding competitive travel grants for research in iran and countries with relevant research resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 18
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 9.8%; rating input score 10
  • Program expense ratio: 37.9%; rating input score 38
  • 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 77.6%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.48; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 41.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 9.8% of revenue deployed · 37.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $48K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 26 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.