Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521898636
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Catonsville, MD, USA
Phone
4437573500
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,741,544
Expenses
$17,303,135
Assets
$31,545,946
Liabilities
$8,517,953

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID HUNT (PRESIDENT)
  • MARK LEWIS (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • JULIE SWANN (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • ELENA A GERSTMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELENA A GERSTMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $444,352 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY COHEN (CHIEF STRATEGY & INNOVATION): $215,659 total reported compensation
  • JOHN KING (DIRECTOR, IT): $214,922 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Informs leads in the development, dissemination and implementation of knowledge, research, and technologies in operations research, analytics, the management sciences, and related methods of improving operational processes, decision making, and management.

What it reported doing in 2025

Subdivision program - subdivisions consist of societies, forums, special interest groups, chapters, and student chapters. They provide an opportunity for members to network with others in their regional and technical areas of interest. Subdivisions sponsor meetings, web pages, newsletters, workshops, and awards, and co-sponsor select informs journals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 99%; rating input score 99; 42nd 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.4%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.7% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $15.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $444K · 23 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.