The International Institute on Race Equality and Human Rights

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472348129
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027335639
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International, Foreign Affairs

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,935,274
Expenses
$7,330,750
Assets
$898,782
Liabilities
$801,274

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARLOS QUESADA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MITZI BOWEN (PRESIDENT)
  • MARGARETTE MAY MACAULAY (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARLOS QUESADA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $217,481 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINA FETTERHOFF (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $131,785 total reported compensation
  • GETYE MULAT (FINANCE MANAGER): $122,186 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The international institute on race, equality and human rights contributes to the promotion and defense of human rights, through training, technical assistance, advocacy, and strategic litigation conducted at the regional and international levels. Our vision is an equal society built on the universal declaration of human rights, in which human rights are respected without any kind of discrimination.

What it reported doing in 2024

South america: race and equality works in south america to strengthen the capacity of our counterparts to monitor and document human rights violations committed against human rights defenders, women, children, afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and members of the lgbti community, while simultaneously increasing access to information on human rights, including information about the inter-american human rights system as well as the universal system.in brazil, race and equality works to strengthen and build alliances between civil society organizations. Our goal is to strengthen grassroots organizations to become autonomous political actors and promote structural change in their countries. Likewise, we work together with partners to develop and implement national, regional, and international strategies for legal action in cases of human rights violations. We act strategically to connect civil society organizations and the groups they defend, observing the highest standards of human rights protection. Finally, race and equality together with its partners seek to prepare reports and dossiers on the situation of the country with strategic recommendations so that they can guide the construction of national public policies, visibility of human rights violations, democratic strengthening and, in addition, offer an overview of the brazilian scenario at regional and international level.in colombia, race and equality provides technical assistance to our partners in order to improve their strategic litigation, advocacy, research and documentation of human rights violations, and communications capabilities. We promote the strategic use of litigation to overcome human rights violations, from training our partners in the use of legal tools available to generating discourse on strategies for legal advocacy. At the domestic level, we promote our partners' visibility and presence in the development of local public policies or legal changes that are pertinent to them. At the international level, we promote participation in spheres of human rights debate offered by the inter-american commission on human rights and the various organs of the united nations system, to submit formal complaints or present reports on the human rights situation in colombia. Race and equality's racial justice program in colombia has been developing national and international research, advocacy and strategic litigation actions aimed at guaranteeing the rights of afro-descendant human rights defenders, victims of the armed conflict, belonging to ethnic communities and victims of racist police violence. Our human mobility program in colombia aims to promote access to justice and the protection of human rights for people in situations of human mobility, affected by different forms of violence and discrimination in colombia, through implementing activities for the defense of human rights, advocacy, international litigation and strengthening the technical capacities of civil society organizations. Finally, race and equality has a thematic line focused on lgbti+ people, which seeks to influence the generation of structural changes to overcome human rights violations in colombia from a diverse perspective.in peru, race and equality provides technical assistance and supports peruvian human rights organizations that work to promote the rights of lgbti+ and afro-descendant people, in order to advocate and influence the country's public policies in favor of protecting these populations, as well as advocating before international human rights organizations. We promote our partners' participation in spaces for advocacy and regional debate, such as the oas general assembly, the summit of the americas and the inter-american human rights system, where we mainly manage thematic hearings before the inter-american commission on human rights (iachr) and precautionary measures for victims of human rights violations. Likewise, at the universal human rights system of the united nations (un),

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.2%; rating input score 98; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.9% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $217K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $219K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.