The Potsdam Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270450414
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026865753
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,545
Expenses
$70,516
Assets
$30,656
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

People named in this filing

  • THERESA M SANDWITH (CORPORATE DIRECTOR, DIRECT)
  • HAMILTON FORD (CORPORATE DIRECTOR, DIRECT)

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

The mission of the potsdam foundation is based on the principle that the transatlantic relationship has provided the basis for international security, political and religious freedom, and economic opportunity since the end of ww ii, (continued on schedule 0)and that this relationship continues to be the cornerstone of us relations with britain, germany and europe for meeting the needs and challenges of the contemporary world. Its purpose is, therefore, to advance the goal of improved transatlantic relations, with an emphasis on british-american and german-american relations, and particularly relations with the former communist states of east germany, through a series of public dialogue and educational programs designed to advance mutual understanding and common interests.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public dialogue & education -- improving transatlantic relationsspecific sub-program events of public dialog are:1)monthly online zoom roundtables hosted by dr theresa sandwith.zoom program project management, it and technical support cost 2500 pm, with exchange rates varying across the year these programs typically cost $10,500 per quarter.topics include:25 january - the european economic outlook for 2024: will 2024 be europes year of anxiety?28 february - a summary & analysis of the 60th munich security conference (msc)21 march - the taurus dilemma: should germany give ukraine the "bunker buster"?25 april - nato at 75: the alliance's future lies in ukraine's victory against russia23 may - ukraine's stalemate in nato's stalemate: how to end the paralysis27 june - it's time for decisive action: a look ahead to july's nato summit25 july - key takeaways from the 2024 nato summit29 august - vice president kamala harris's real-world school of foreign policy: what this means for nato and the ukraine26 september - from convention season to the final campaign stretch: a look at the next two months ahead28 october - economists warn germany will suffer with a trump re-election: can its economic crisis be averted?21 november - will the trump restoration be an un-mitigated disaster for germany? How tariffs and ukraine's surrender could spell doom19 december - auf widersehen, goodbye... For the time being

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -977.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -42.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 2 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $64K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.