Middle East Media and Research Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522068483
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029559070
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Promotion of International Understanding

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,512,786
Expenses
$30,826,985
Assets
$2,228,768
Liabilities
$2,328,123

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • YIGAL CARMON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN STALINSKY (EXECUTIVE DI): $259,361 total reported compensation
  • ELLIOT ZWEIG (DEPUTY DIREC): $171,882 total reported compensation
  • RUHAMA SOSNOW (EDITOR): $155,781 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The middle east media research institute (memri) explores the middle east through its media, providing timely translations from arabic, farsi, urdu, pashtu, and turkish media and publishing original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, religious and other trends in the arab and muslim world as well as in russia and china, making these available to the public. It assists the u.s. Military and law enforcement with its research, including with its monitoring of online activity, providing them with real-time information. The middle east media research institute (memri) publishes timely translations from arabic, farsi, urdu, pashtu, russian, and chinese content from media and other open sources - print, broadcast, and online, including social media, sermons, and schoolbooks - as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in these regions. Founded in december 1997 to inform the debate in u.s. Policy in the middle eas

What it reported doing in 2024

The middle east media research institute (memri) provides an essential service for government agencies, legislative bodies, policymakers, and law enforcement, informing them and assisting them in carrying out their missions. It also informs media, academia, and the public at large. It bridges the language gap between the middle east/russia/china and the west by monitoring and translating content from all forms of media across the entire spectrum of political, ideological, cultural, and other vital spheres, and publishing original analysis the media of these regions, offering direct access to primary source material in arabic, farsi, urdu, pashtu, russian, and chinese. Every week, memri publishes dozens of translations, analysis pieces, and translated video clips; this research is posted on our website, memri.org, around the clock and disseminated daily via email and social media to tens of thousands of subscribers and followers. Its research is published in english and other major languages, and its main website memri.org and its project websites receive millions of visitors annually. Memri tv clips have had a total of over one billion views since the launch of this project in 2004. Memri provides briefings as well as information, including timely and actionable alerts, to federal, state, and local government agencies focusing on counterterrorism, foreign policy, and law enforcement, and its research is vital to informing discussions on the middle east, counterterrorism, and other important issues on all levels of government. Additionally, media outlets across the u.s. - all major television networks, major newspapers and magazines, online news outlets, and more - regularly cite and rely on memri research, and turn to memri for special media projects and programs. Memri research is also used in academia, at hundreds of universities and institutes of higher education across the u.s.

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 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 most filed governance safeguards are in place. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.9%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -224.1%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.04; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $29.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $259K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $405K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.