Promys Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452917981
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6173532563
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Reported finances

Revenue
$540,886
Expenses
$948,804
Assets
$1,548,919
Liabilities
$10,192

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WAN-YIN WU (PRESIDENT)
  • MARJORY BARUCH (VICE PRESIDENT 2024 / PRESIDENT ELECT 11 10 25)

People named in this filing

  • JOSHUA GREENE RESIGNED 111025 (TRUSTEE)
  • GLENN STEVENS (TREASURER)
  • WAN-YIN WU (PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

All activities of the promys foundation are designed to serve a single purpose: to support the non-profit program in mathematics for young scientists (promys) whose mission is finding and nurturing talent in mathematics. The promys program is a program of boston university, an organization described in section 501(c)(3) and section 170(b)(i)(a)(ii). The activities of the promys foundation will center on fundraising with the primary goal being to provide funds to promys to fund student scholarships.

What it reported doing in 2024

The promys foundation was delighted to fund $905,748 in mission-related activities in 2024 including supporting need-based financial aid for 24 students at promys 2024. Thirteen full scholarships were awarded including the breakout fellowship and jane street fellowships. 38% of all financial aid recipients in 2024 had family incomes under $41,000 a year. Eighty-two high school students, 23 undergraduate counselors, and 2 junior counselors participated in promys 2024 on the campus of boston university. Thanks to generous support from the polynera fund and jane street, promys foundation helped fund promys pathways and promys for teachers, both run at boston university.promys was excited to run the 2nd summer of promys india in 2024 in partnership with the indian institute of science (iisc) bangalore. Twenty-eight high school students and nine counselors participated. Promys india 2024 was free for all students thanks to generous support from our partners and donors. The founding sponsors of promys india are nick nash & phalgun raju, avi and sandra nash, and the indira foundation. We are also very grateful for the generosity of the packard foundation, jane street, and squarepoint foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.9%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -75.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $938K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.