Institute of the Americas
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953671557
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- La Jolla, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8584535560
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,715,836
- Expenses
- $1,869,848
- Assets
- $15,196,983
- Liabilities
- $130,147
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RICHARD KIY (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- RICHARD KIY (President & CEO): $308,115 total reported compensation
- JEREMY MARTIN (VP Energy/Sustain.): $174,918 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To be a catalyst for promoting economic development and integration, emphasizing the role of the private sector, as a means to improve the economic and social well-being of the people of the Americas.
What it reported doing in 2024
Economic Competitiveness Program: In 2024, the Institute of the Americas (IOA) Economic Competitiveness program advanced key initiatives to strengthen North American economic integration, with a focus on the San Diego-Baja California regions potential in nearshoring. In April, IOA and the Burnham Center released Seizing CaliBajas Nearshoring Opportunity: A Binational Call for Action, presenting strategies to boost U.S.-Mexico trade and supply chain security. This report, which attracted nearly 200 cross-border stakeholders, underscored the potential for increased nearshoring related investment in Baja California that could boost exports to the U.S. but also highlighted the necessary pre-conditions that would be required for this investment to occur. With support from the Burnham Foundation and California GO-Biz, IOA and the Burnham Center also hosted a forum on the generic and biosimilar manufacturing potential for the CaliBaja region where Representative Scott Peters emphasized the region's role in stabilizing essential medicine supplies. IOA, in partnership with UC San Diegos School of Global Policy & Strategy, serves as the U.S. Co-Coordinator for the North American Forum (NAF). In 2024, the NAF convened thought leaders from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada in Ottawa in late November with discussions focused on the future of North American economic integration and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the implications of recent elections in the U.S. and Mexico.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 72.4%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $23.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.13; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93% of revenue deployed · 72.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $308K · 23 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.