Eurasianet Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810691279
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
9172392063
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$248,410
Expenses
$424,904
Assets
$29,347
Liabilities
$89,111

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JUSTIN BURKE (EXECUTIVE DIR./SECRETARY): $42,091 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the south caucasus and central asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on the most important developments in the region. We strive to provide information useful to policymakers, scholars, and interested citizens both in and outside of eurasia. Content is published in both english and russian.eurasianet is a tax-exempt [501(c)3] organization based at columbia university's harriman institute, one of the leading centers in north america of scholarship on eurasia. We are funded by the open society foundations, the national endowment for democracy, columbia university's saltzman institute of war and peace studies and other grant-making institutions, and are advised by a board of trustees.

What it reported doing in 2024

Eurasianet is an independent news organization with over two decades of experience in publishing original information and analysis about russia and the rest of eurasia, reaching a global audience in both english and russian. In 2016, it established itself as an independent, tax-exempt 501(c)3 news organization. The same year eurasianet entered into a partnership agreement with columbia university's harriman institute. Eurasianet at the end of its fiscal year in 2023 had an average monthly combined readership totaling more than 1.2 million unique visitors across all our distribution channels, including direct traffic to our website and branded social media channels, as well as verifiable reprints by third-party media outlets. In 2023, eurasianet expanded its programmatic activities, instituting a mentoring program to provide practical opportunities to non-journalists (i.e. Academics, experts and non-governmental organization activists) to improve their communications skills. Over the years, eurasianet has garnered numerous awards, including an honor in 2018 from the webby awards for a special feature about l00th anniversary of the bolshevik revolution. The webbies are described as the oscars of the internet. In 2011, the news organization garnered an eppy award in the category of best news website with under 250,000 unique visits per month, presented by editor & publisher magazine.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 75%; rating input score 75; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -71%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.04; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -16.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $352K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $42K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.