Intermedia Survey Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521996156
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024349310
Rating
52
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,748,202
Expenses
$2,368,643
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DENISE O'REILLY (CEO & PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DENISE O'REILLY (CEO & PRESIDENT): $263,378 total reported compensation
  • SAMUEL SCHUETH (RESEARCH DIRECTOR): $184,419 total reported compensation
  • MAMADOU THIAM (SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR): $159,696 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Conduct scientific research in the public interest and provide consulting services for the international development community, including philanthropic foundations, non-governmental organizations, agencies of the united nations and the united states government, and for us and other international public-service broadcasting organizations.

What it reported doing in 2018

Conducting scientific research and consulting in the public interest, investigating the use of digital technology for alleviation of poverty; public attitudes and information concerning issues of global health; and research studies on the effectiveness of u.s. And other publicly funded international broadcasting. The organization ceased operations and dissolved on september 30, 2019.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 46
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 2
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 51.6%; rating input score 52
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -35.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 35.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -24.4% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61% of revenue deployed · 51.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $263K · 11 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $112K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.