International Exploration Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043827227
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6266184000
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,586
Expenses
$201,275
Assets
$1,883,320
Liabilities
$1,883,320

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Scott Bell (Director)
  • Michael Higgins (Officer and Director)
  • Janet Shay (Officer and 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. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Educational organization which explores and enriches geographic knowledge.

What it reported doing in 2025

Expeditions conducted of cultures around the world, their people, foods, agriculture, landscapes, commerce. Seeking captivating photography and eye-opening stories to foster awareness and inspire appreciation through our many outreach publishing program opportunities. Number of people benefited is approximately 820,000.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: Limited
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1,381.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.36; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -49.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $201K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.