Thomas B Fordham Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311816446
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Burke, VA, USA
Phone
2022235452
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,780,476
Expenses
$3,935,524
Assets
$4,797,340
Liabilities
$643,244

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael J Petrilli (President and Trustee)
  • Chester E Finn Jr (President Emeritus and Trustee)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael J Petrilli (President and Trustee): $464,521 total reported compensation
  • Amber M Northern (Senior VP for Research): $346,699 total reported compensation
  • Chad L Aldis (VP for Ohio Policy and Advocacy): $316,752 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 Thomas B. Fordham Institute is the nation's leader in advancing educational excellence through quality research, analysis, and commentary, as well as on-the-ground action and advocacy in Ohio.

What it reported doing in 2024

Researching and Evaluating Education for Upward Mobility: Producing and disseminating studies and policy briefs identifying evidence-based solutions and best-practice recommendations that help children born into poverty transcend their disadvantages and enter the middle class as adults, including high-quality Career and Technical Education programs. Program expenses include direct and indirect expenditures.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -41.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $465K · 15 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.