Portulans Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843566840
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
6072620983
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$793,560
Expenses
$570,224
Assets
$488,895
Liabilities
$25,606

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RAFAEL ESCALONA REYNOSO (CEO & SECRETARY)
  • SOUMITRA DUTTA (PRESIDENT (ON-LEAVE FROM NOV))
  • GIANNA SAGAZIO (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • WILLIAM DUTTON (CO-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RAFAEL ESCALONA REYNOSO (CEO & SECRETARY): $120,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To develop cross-community knowledge and dialogue on how people, technology and innovation contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth; to inform policy-makers, by producing independent, rigorous metrics and data-based research; to collaborate with private sector leaders in driving a business agenda that invests in people, technology, and innovation for a prosperous common future; to host and co-organize events and conferences on the above issues affecting human-centric sustainable economic prosperity.

What it reported doing in 2025

Research - at the portulans institute, our research projects primarily focus on conducting technical analyses grounded in data derived from comprehensive instruments such as the network readiness index (nri) and the global innovation index (gii), among other composite indicators. These initiatives enable us to meticulously examine the interplay between technology, innovation, and human capital. Leveraging our specialized expertise in these domains, we formulate insightful policy analyses and craft strategic recommendations. Our goal is to foster informed policymaking that can effectively capitalize on the opportunities presented by technological advancements and innovation dynamics. These efforts are instrumental in guiding stakeholders at various levels to achieve enhanced economic and social outcomes.

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 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.7%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 28.1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.7% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $442K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.