Comitas Inst for Anthrop Study Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 320078139
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3013700370
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $401,333
- Expenses
- $186,588
- Assets
- $2,190,336
- Liabilities
- $151
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MELANIE DREHER PHD (President & SEC)
- ALBERT BARCLAY PHD (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- MELANIE DREHER PHD (President & SEC)
- ALBERT BARCLAY PHD (Vice President)
- JAKE HOMIAK PHD (Secretary)
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
Based at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, where Lambros Comitas taught for over 50 years, The Comitas Institute has a collaborative mission: (1) to train and prepare researchers in the use of ethnographic field methods, (2) to recognize and support research and applied projects that advance the Institutes vision, and (3) to curate and offer access to the rich body of ethnographic research created by its founder, his colleagues and students. All these objectives endeavor collectively to advance and expand the public face of anthropology.
What it reported doing in 2025
COMITAS INSTITUTE AWARDS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY FOR APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY: The Institute and its collaborating partner, the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), invited applications from scholars and practitioners whose work demonstrated relevance to contemporary social problems and was designed to reach public audiences. This was the first year that the Awards Program was implemented. Three awards of $3,000 each were made. The Executive Director devoted significant time to the application process, the review of applications, and the selection process by a joint committee with two SfAA representatuves.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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
SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 42
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 39.5%; rating input score 39
- Program expense ratio: 60.7%; rating input score 61
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 53.5%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.74; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 78% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 27.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 44.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 39.5% of revenue deployed · 60.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $113K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.