Institute for Public Strategies
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 330519874
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Diego, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6194769100
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public Health Program (Includes General Health and Wellness Promotion Services)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,397,060
- Expenses
- $5,623,760
- Assets
- $3,730,418
- Liabilities
- $2,232,590
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Brenda Simmons (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Brenda Simmons (CEO): $196,718 total reported compensation
- TERRI L HOWEY (COO): $180,004 total reported compensation
- SARAH BLANCH (CSO): $172,760 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Institute of Public Strategies (IPS) is a nonprofit corporation that receives its funding from local and federal governmental agencies and private foundations, through long-term grants or contracts to provide community-level services within specified regions or communities. IPS helps community partners prevent problems by focusing on the community conditions (the social determinants of health) that negatively influence population-level health outcomes.IPS vision is safe, secure, vibrant, and healthy communities where everyone can thrive. The mission of IPS is to work alongside communities to build power, challenge systems of injustice, protect health, and improve quality of life. IPS accomplishes this by providing community partners and youth with training, technical assistance, and tools to impact public health, public safety, equity, and social justice through systems change.IPS corporate office is in San Diego, California, and we have four additional offices located throughout South
What it reported doing in 2024
Environmental Justice: IPS assists with the development of an environmental justice project led by the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County, which will create shovel-ready restoration plans for 15 acres within Otay Valley Regional Park. This once-monoculture eucalyptus grove will be transformed through native habitat restoration, enhanced wildlife corridors, improved stormwater infiltration and water quality, and enriched public access. With the Institute for Public Strategies serving as the community engagement and stewardship lead, the project will ensure that grassroots voicesincluding immigrant youth, tribal partners, and neighborhood residentsshape the design and take ownership of the long-term restoration legacy. Community workshops, youth ambassador programming, public-access design, and a volunteer stewardship framework will anchor the projects sustainability. The result: a restored natural asset that connects wildlife, filters water, provides equitable access to nature, and builds local leadership.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 91% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.2%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 21st 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12.1%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.2% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $150K reported
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.