Selous Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521433476
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025476963
Rating
52
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$257,865
Expenses
$90,800
Assets
$7,391
Liabilities
$57,913

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MORGAN NORVAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MORGAN NORVAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $9,788 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Foster, develop and promote, on a non-partisan basis, a greater understanding and awareness of the conflicts for power and control within and among cultural and societal groups, political entities, governments throughout the world.

What it reported doing in 2018

Dissemination of information and results of research related to conflicts of power and control within and between cultural, societal, and governmental systems.

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

MIXED - 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: 26
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 14.1%; rating input score 14
  • Program expense ratio: 40.1%; rating input score 40
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 64.8%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 7.84; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -17.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -12.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -43.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 14.1% of revenue deployed · 40.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $36K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $10K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2013 to 2018
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.