Pathways to Safety International
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 931281870
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Portland, OR, USA
- Phone
- 5032031444
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Spouse Abuse, Prevention
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $78,051
- Expenses
- $59,159
- Assets
- $42,644
- Liabilities
- $407
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Keri Potts (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Paula Lucas (Founder/Treasurer): $18,975 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Pathways to Safety International empowers American victims of sexual & gender-based violence abroad. Pathways undertakes the global challenge of assisting American victims who are enduring extreme suffering in isolated situations where support seems minimal and many obstacles block the path to safety. Services were provided 24/7/365 via technology on a global scale to American victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and forced marriage via an international toll-free crisis line, 833-SAFE-833, until funding was lost in 2019. Pathways continues to operate a crisis email serving a population estimated at 9 million American civilians living overseas, 98.5 million Americans traveling overseas in 2023 according to trade.gov.
What it reported doing in 2025
Via the crisis email Pathways assisted 436 victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and forced marriage of which 205 victims in 64 foreign countries met the criteria for program service eligibility as Americans abroad and 231 did not. The 231 victims who did not meet the criteria for services as Americans abroad were provided information and referrals to other resources.
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 94% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
- Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 24.2%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -12.2% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -10.5% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $49K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $19K · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.