Program of Academic Exchange

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020439252
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Rochelle, NY, USA
Phone
8005556211
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Academic Exchange

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,998,307
Expenses
$8,818,692
Assets
$4,297,047
Liabilities
$1,445,868

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Bradley Smith (President & CEO)
  • Sarah Fellows (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Bradley Smith (President & CEO): $286,154 total reported compensation
  • Sarah Fellows (Vice President): $175,611 total reported compensation
  • Matthew Stainback (VP, Field Ops): $174,964 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

PAX Laurasian Exchange envisions a global community of people who are open minded and appreciate cultural differences, because we believe such a community is a fertile field for justice, peace, and prosperity. We aspire to be the quality leader in academic exchange and experiential learning because we believe such experiences transform the individual's ability to influence our world for the better.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program of Academic Exchange (PAX) administers international educational and cultural exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, American Councils, schools, and other partners. Programs include student placement with volunteer host families, participant orientation, educational support, local coordinator services, monitoring, and cultural exchange activities that promote mutual understanding between the United States and other countries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 63% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.2%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $286K · 10 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.