Social Science Conferences Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561348590
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2011
Forms available
Form 990 2011
Location
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone
9199421230
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Public, Societal Benefit

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$-723,817
Expenses
$528,915
Assets
$4,084,301
Liabilities
$112,565

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2011. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2011. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Social Science Conferences Inc was chartered in 1982 to create and organize conferences on topics of interest to the social sciences. In the ensuing 30 years conferences has been broadly interpreted to include weekend, month-long, and academic year meetings in person and on the web.

What it reported doing in 2011

Center for Human Science-The Center conducts year-long conferences for a select group of 12 receipients of SSCI fellowships. Fellows are responsible for their share of the cost of occupancy, but can apply for grants to help defray their expenses. During the 2010-11 academic year, the Center housed fellows from Economics, Environmental Science, Marine Science, Engineering, Urban Planning, Political Science, Sociology, Computer Science, Anthropology, Film Studies, and Social Psychology.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -173.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.72; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: -29.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $429K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2010 to 2011
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.