Rodel Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 920721362
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 4809150838
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Private Operating Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,309,402
- Expenses
- $2,891,854
- Assets
- $1,012,558
- Liabilities
- $7,999
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOHN KROGER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- JEFF KING (VICE PRESIDENT & COO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN KROGER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $481,141 total reported compensation
- JEFF KING (VICE PRESIDENT & COO): $348,492 total reported compensation
- SUSAN HWANG (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $160,201 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The rodel institute is a nonpartisan center for leadership and intellectual growth. Rodel helps america's most promising leaders reach their full potential as public servants, deepen their commitment to democracy and the rule of law, continued on schedule ocontinued from page 1and work together to address some of our nation's most important domestic and international challenges.
What it reported doing in 2025
"founded in 2022, the edwards prize is awarded annually to a book published in the prior year that promises to make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and american politics. The prize is named in honor of marvin henry ""mickey"" edwards, who has inspired generations of american public servants and students as a member of congress; faculty member at harvard, princeton, and american university; author of multiple scholarly books on the american political process; and founding executive director of the rodel fellowship. In making the selection for the edwards prize, the committee will seek a work that reflects the goals and values of the rodel institute. Excerpts from the winning book will be included as background reading for relevant rodel seminars. The prize will be awarded annually and will carry an honorarium of $10,000. The winner of the prize will be determined by a committee of seven persons comprised of four rodel fellows, the president of the rodel institute, and two outside advisors appointed by the rodel president. In odd-numbered years, the prize will be announced at the main dinner held at the rodel reunion, at which the winner will present a talk. In even years, the prize will be presented to the recipient in conjunction with a rodel university partner who will host a lecture to be delivered by the winner."
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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.8%; rating input score 59
- Program expense ratio: 67.3%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: 12.6%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 44.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 23.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 58.8% of revenue deployed · 67.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $481K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.