Rome Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541808958
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Phone
- 7042877808
- Rating
- 60
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Digestive Disease, Disorder Research
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,490,211
- Expenses
- $2,609,191
- Assets
- $2,630,479
- Liabilities
- $79,840
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Douglas A Drossman (CEO)
- Jan Tack (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Douglas A Drossman (CEO): $130,000 total reported compensation
- Tanya Murphy (Executive Dir.): $114,516 total reported compensation
- Jan Tack (President): $42,000 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 support and promote multinational research; develop and update diagnostic criteria; establish mechanisms for validation of evolving diagnostic criteria; and disseminate findings and recommendations in the diagnostics, care and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
What it reported doing in 2025
Other program expenses to support and promote multinational research; develop and update diagnostic criteria; establish mechanisms for validation of evolving diagnostic criteria; and disseminate findings and recommendations in the diagnostics, care and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 65% 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 - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 28
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 65
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 27.7%; rating input score 28
- Program expense ratio: 37.3%; rating input score 37
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd 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: 63.6%; rating input score 64; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 25.2%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 27.7% of revenue deployed · 37.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $972K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $130K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 28/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.