Institute for the Study of Religion in the Middle East
Legal name: Institute for the Study of Religion In the Middle East Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453336159
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- South Hadley, MA, USA
- Phone
- 4135361589
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $62,709
- Expenses
- $82,711
- Assets
- $57,908
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Daniel W Brown (President, Director)
People named in this filing
- Daniel W Brown (President, Director)
- James E Hartley (Treasurer, Director)
- Emma C Kuipers (Clerk, Director)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The ISRME promotes and disseminates scholarly research on the religions and religious communities of the Middle East by organizing seminars and colloquia, publishing journals and books, and educating the general public through public lectures, publications, and its website. All ISRME study programs assume ability to do Master’s level academic work. At present all courses are taught in English, and non-native English speakers may be asked to provide evidence of facility in academic English. A bachelor’s degree or equivalent is ordinarily required to enroll in a course. Upper level undergraduates or students with relevant life experience will also be considered. We welcome Muslim students, Christian students, or students of any faith. How do I apply? Use the form below to apply for any currently available ISRME study program.
What it reported doing in 2024
See Schedule O
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 97
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 91.7%; rating input score 92
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -31.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -13.3% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $76K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.