Boulder Institute of Microfinance C/o Robert Peck Christen

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201175839
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
3157603091
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$166,285
Expenses
$277,693
Assets
$660,368
Liabilities
$68,665

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT PECK CHRISTEN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT PECK CHRISTEN (PRESIDENT): $66,920 total reported compensation
  • CONSUELO MUNOZ ARAYA (MEMBER): $9,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To contribute to a rapid increase in the access of families living on less than two dollars a day to a full range of safe, affordable, and easy to use formal financial services, delivered through a financial ecosystem in which a variety of partners specialize in different parts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide microfinance technical training to the practitioners of this field around the world and to reduce poverty through microfinance training.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.4%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 32.3%; rating input score 32
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -67%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.38; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -18.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.2% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.4% of revenue deployed · 32.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $90K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $67K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.