Pearl Initiative Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454442459
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Scarsdale, NY, USA
Rating
38
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$765,368
Expenses
$916,069
Assets
$2,067,155
Liabilities
$602,550

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Pankaj Khatri (Head of Busines): $118,380 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pearl Initiative is an association of persons having a common business interest in trade between the United States and the Arabian Gulf region and within the region. Pearl Initiatives purpose is to promote the common economic interests of all commercial enterprises with the U.S.-Arabian Gulf region trade community by dedicating itself to improving transparency, accountability and business practices with the community. The plan for Pearl Initiative has been developed in cooperationwith the United Nations Office for Partnerships and is recognized as a center of excellence at the American University of Sharjah. Pearl Initiative aims to improve business conditions for U.S. businesses interested or engaged in the region and regional businesses by creating a culture of greater transparency and accountability within the Arabian Gulf region, thereby fostering competitive economic growth and sustainable social development.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Pearl Initiative (PI) is the Gulf Regions leading independent, private sector-led non-profit organisation working to improve corporate accountability and transparency across a number of themes, including Anti-Corruption Best Practices, Diversity in Business Leadership, Governance in MSMEs, Governance in Family Firms, Governance in Tech and Governance in Philanthropy. PI was established in 2010 by regional business leaders and the UN Office for Partnerships. PI is the first private non-profit organisation in the Gulf Region to receive special consultative status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 2021, PI launched its updated strategy with bold ambitions for expansion over the next few years resulting in PI Vision 2025. PI runs programmes focusing on governance-related matters, conducts regionally-based research, convenes business leaders, government and civil society leaders and students to discuss challenges and opportunities in implementing best practices in the workforce. PI also runs workshops and training to support business professionals as they take the lead in implementing corporate governance, accountability and transparency practices in their organisations.With various regional and international partners, PI brings together business, policy and social sector decision-makers to share best practices and help maximise sustainable and inclusive growth across the Gulf Region. PI also supports Gulf-based university students to identify and embrace strong ethics and integrity as they embark on their future careers.For more information, please visit www.pearlinitiative.org and follow / subscribe to PIs Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube channels by using the following handle @PearlInitiative.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

REVIEW - Most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.26; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $741K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.