Association for the Academic Study of New Religions Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043594919
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Highland Park, IL, USA
Phone
8478940807
Rating
47
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religious Printing, Publishing
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Reported finances

Revenue
$46,135
Expenses
$5,204
Assets
$616,901
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BENJAMIN E ZELLER (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • JOSEPH LAYCOCK (VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • BENJAMIN E ZELLER (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • JOSEPH LAYCOCK (VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • MARIE DALLAM (SECRETARY/DIRECTOR)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Mission is an educational mission to encourage academic research in the field of new, alternative, and non-mainstream religions in contemporary society.

What it reported doing in 2025

1. Production of journal Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. $293. 2. Grant for publication in Nova Religio. $200. 3. Marketing of Nova Religion journal. $4180.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as 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: 2
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0.8%; rating input score 1
  • Program expense ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 4
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 88.7%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 118.54; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -13.3% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -95.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0.8% of revenue deployed · 3.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $200 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 1/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.