The Futures Forum Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463744617
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone
2029076140
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$29,881
Expenses
$43,070
Assets
$93,008
Liabilities
$1,861

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Claire A Nelson (President)

People named in this filing

  • Karema Daley (Secretary and Treasurer)
  • Claire A Nelson (President)
  • Alland Leandre (Member)

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

Futures Forum is a not-for-profit education and research practice established to improve long-range thinking and planning for the future through thought leadership, research and development, advocacy, education and training.

What it reported doing in 2024

1) Research - Climate Energy Space International Consortium 2) Education & Training - Future Sense Now Video Podcasts World Interfaith Day Online Forum Online Workshops like Imagine Jamaica 3) Advocacy - Participate in Space Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill with other NGOs in The Planetary Society

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 45
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -44.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.16; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -24.9% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $41K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.