Road Scholar
Legal name: Elderhostel Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 042632526
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6174267788
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Recreational l Clubs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $445,959,787
- Expenses
- $401,004,482
- Assets
- $384,003,668
- Liabilities
- $199,949,686
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- James Moses (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- James Moses (President & CEO): $1,386,517 total reported compensation
- Maeve Hartney (Chief Programs Officer): $530,201 total reported compensation
- Lowell Partridge (Ass't Treasurer & CFO): $527,812 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
At not-for-profit Road Scholar, our mission is to inspire adults to learn, discover and travel. Road Scholar is not a traditional travel company. We’re a not-for-profit organization —and we have been ever since our founding in 1975. That not-for-profit status means we can put learning first in our decision-making. It allows us to keep costs low and to offer valuable programs that aren’t driven by revenue. It makes it possible to provide scholarships that help offset costs so that financial constraints don’t pose a barrier to participation. And it means we can dedicate resources to the research and advancement of lifelong learning. Learn how you can help support our mission through giving 9.0.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our 110-seat Participant Services Center handled over 285,000 inbound telephone calls and made approximately 34,000 outbound telephone calls to inquirers and enrollees that resulted in over 76,000 enrollment, cancellation, transfer and contribution transactions. They also responded to over 76,000 emails. In addition, the 56-seat Travel Services Center handled over 62,000 inbound telephone calls and made over 26,000 outbound calls to enrollees who desired assistance in making, changing or cancelling their travel flight arrangements to Road Scholar programs. This team also responded to over 6,000 emails and booked over 129,000 flight segments for enrolled participants.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 97% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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
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: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 92.6%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th 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: 10.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.96; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.52; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 92.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $371.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $67.4M reported
- Consistency: 47 of 47 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 12 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.
- 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 scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.