American Philosophical Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 231353269
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 2154403400
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Humanities Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $20,391,804
- Expenses
- $15,571,638
- Assets
- $310,248,157
- Liabilities
- $7,715,566
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
43 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Dr Robert M Hauser (CEO)
- Dr Patrick Spero (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Robert M Hauser (CEO): $376,275 total reported compensation
- Michelle McDonald (Dir of Library): $301,818 total reported compensation
- John Wolfe (Financial Offic): $300,742 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States, was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of "promoting useful knowledge." In the 21st century the Society sustains this mission in three principal ways. It honors and engages distinguished scientists, humanists, social scientists, and leaders in civic and cultural affairs through elected membership and opportunities for interdisciplinary, intellectual fellowship, particularly in the semi-annual Meetings in Philadelphia. It supports research and discovery through grants and fellowships, lectures, publications, prizes, exhibitions, and public education. It serves scholars through a research library of manuscripts and other collections internationally recognized for their enduring historic value. The American Philosophical Society's current activities reflect the founder's spirit of inquiry, provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas, and convey the conviction of its members that intel
What it reported doing in 2024
The Society's printed Yearbook for 2024 gives a complete account of the Society's activities. A copy will be furnished upon request. Details concerning contributions and research grants are on hand and are available for inspection at the Society's office.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Investment-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 80
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 72.6%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Pass
- May require repayment: Fail
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23.6%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.92; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 72.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $376K · 43 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.