Institute for Global Engagement

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
233042456
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
7035273100
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,019,427
Expenses
$1,095,407
Assets
$771,826
Liabilities
$638,116

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr Bob Roberts Jr (President)
  • James Chen (Senior Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • James Chen (Senior Vice President): $177,672 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

IGE catalyzes freedom of faith worldwide so that everyone has the ability to live what they believe. It studies the impact of faith on state and society, it equips governments to protect religious freedom, and it equips citizens to excercise that freedom responsibly.

What it reported doing in 2024

IGE encourages governments to protect religious freedom (top-down engagement) and equipping citizens to exercise that freedom responsibly (bottom-up engagement). IGE's religious freedom programs are rooted in long-term relationships and practical agreements with government officials, policymakers, and faith communities in the United States and in each of the countries where we work. These agreements create mechanisms for respectful and open dialogue about the proper role of religion in each of these societies, as well as practical projects that promote respect and reconciliation.IGE has worked in some of the most complex contexts including: Iraq, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Central Asia, and South Africa. Our engagement strategy is both innovative and singular. We work closely with governments and influential scholars to advance the view that religious freedom - properly implemented - can be a critical component of social and political stability. Effective and sensitive management of religious activity by states can serve as an antidote against some forms of religious extremism, and can help governments to build bridges with disaffected minority communities. Through its quarterly journal, The Review of Faith and International Affairs (to-date the only journal focused exclusively on this topical nexus), its Center for Women, Faith, & Leadership, and other research and education initiatives, IGE inspires and equips leaders working for positive relationships between religion and public life worldwide.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 44
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.83; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -11.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.1% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $887K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.