Heidelberg University Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
412264822
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2127583324
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Academic Exchange

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$347,864
Expenses
$358,542
Assets
$171,021
Liabilities
$28,220

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT FENSTERMACHER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR KATJA SIMONS (EXEC DIRECTO): $120,976 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The heidelberg university association's mission is to support international exchange students and scholars, and to promote joint educational and research programs between heidelberg university and american universities. It builds and fosters relationships between heidelberg university and its alumni living in the united states and establish partnerships with private donors, foundations and corporations in order to engage their support for charitable, educational and scientific projects at heidelberg university.

What it reported doing in 2025

Building and expanding heidelberg alumni u.s. (haus), the network for heidelberg alumni in the u.s., promoting collaborations between heidelberg university and universities in the u.s. As well as exchange of researchers and scientists across the atlantic. The activities included planning and organizing of alumni events in different areas of the country as well as regular meetings with the volunteer leadership committee. In order to support and promote the expansion of regional heidelberg alumni clubs in the u.s., heidelberg university association relies on the help and dedication of volunteers. This includes the national annual alumni meeting. It also included the promotion of certain programs at heidelberg university that might be especially interesting for U.S.based students and guest professors. It also included promoting, organizing and awarding haus scholarships for students enrolled at u.s. Universities to study at heidelberg university. This part of the program helps to achieve heidelberg university association's mission of supporting the transatlantic exchange of students and scholars and its mission to build and foster relationships between heidelberg university, its alumni living in the united states and the american society at large. This program also included participation in the "deutschland ambassadors" project, which brought u.s. Alumni of heidelberg university together with alumni of other german universities to promote scholarship and research in germany.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 73.4%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 73.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $263K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.