The Ronald Coase Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431885542
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3148620351
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$100,550
Expenses
$202,361
Assets
$510,750
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY M SHIRLEY (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • PHILIP KEEFER (VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • MARY M SHIRLEY (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • CLAUDE MENARD (TREASURY/DIRECTOR)
  • LEE K BENHAM (DIRECTOR)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To improve the capacity of scholars to study institutional problems in their own countries through workshops and other educational activities & to conduct and promote research on the institutions of real economic systems.

What it reported doing in 2025

Alumni mentoring and support/education & networking: alumni and educational activities to maintain our relations with our alumni and faculty, build our network, and keep the coase institute up to date on new research. A. Participated in the annual meetings of the society for organizational and institutional economics and organized a panel for coase alumni to present their research on shocks, polarization and anti-corruption. B. Organized the third annual alumni meeting at the university of new south wales in sydney australia where alumni present new research ideas and give and receive feedback from peers and faculty. C. Oversaw the preparation and publication of additional manuscripts as part of our series with cambridge university press. D. Awarded our ninth annual achievement award to an outstanding alumnus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.1%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $214.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: -101.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.52; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 56.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $198K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.