The Marathon Initiative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850983902
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025108350
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$842,245
Expenses
$1,103,669
Assets
$166,369
Liabilities
$116,638

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • A WESS MITCHELL (DIRECTOR AND TREASURER): $381,847 total reported compensation
  • ELBRIDGE A COLBY (DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY): $381,847 total reported compensation
  • ILONA TELEKI (TREASURER): $5,650 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 mission of The Marathon Initiative is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies the nation will need to navigate a protracted competition with great power rivals.

What it reported doing in 2024

In the area of defense and geopolitics, the marathon initiative focuses on adapting u.s. Defense and military strategy for the era of great power competition. Activities included continued dissemination of the arguments of a major 2021 book on u.s. Defense strategy; publishing analyses on expanding u.s. Defense-industrial capacity and optimizing alliance burden-sharing; and articulating a vision and ideas for a revised defense strategy through a variety of publications, media appearances, public events, and social media engagement.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 46
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 25%; rating input score 25; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -31%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -21.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -27.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 91.4% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $769K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $382K · 4 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.