Tufts Global Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474543971
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Medford, MA, USA
Phone
6176273816
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$214,306
Expenses
$233,849
Assets
$22,964
Liabilities
$18,548

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael W Howard (Executive VP): $777,646 total reported compensation
  • James M Hurley (CFO,VP-Finance & Treasurer - End Date 6/30/2025): $574,888 total reported compensation
  • Barbara Stein (VP Operations): $455,625 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

This corporation is organized exclusively for educational, scientific and charitable activities (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code) benefiting, supporting, performing the functions of, and carrying out the purposes of the trustees of tufts college, a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation. Additionally, the corporation has been formed for the benefit of the trustees of tufts college in order to conduct, support and facilitate educational and research activities within and outside of the united states and to receive grants from organizations, including government organizations, located within and outside of the united states.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tufts Global Background: Tufts Global, Inc. (TGI) supports the international infrastructure needs of its parent organization, the Trustees of Tufts College (Tufts), by providing operational, administrative, and compliance-related services for Tufts' foreign U.S.-AID-funded grant activities. As an affiliate entity, TGI incurs local, in country grant related expenditures necessary to maintain field operations, for which Tufts reimburses TGI through established intercompany affiliate cost recovery processes. These costs support mission-related research and programmatic activities carried out outside the United States. During FY25, TGI maintained an international business office registration located in Kampala, Uganda, which operates as an active, fully functional field office supporting Tufts' global research initiatives. A primary component of TGI's activities relates to administrative and logistical support for the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit II (KRSU II), a five year program funded by USAID/Uganda with additional support from the Embassy of Ireland in Uganda. Managed by ACDI/VOCA and implemented by Tufts University, the program was to run through 2028 but ended early and aimed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of development assistance in the Karamoja region. KRSU II focuses on generating and disseminating evidence to inform policy and programming; strengthening collaboration among government, development, and humanitarian partners; and improving the Government of Uganda's capacity to coordinate and implement regional development plans, including the Karamoja Integrated Development Plan III (KIDP III). During FY25, and through its conclusion on October 5, 2024, KRSU II achieved several significant milestones: * Completed a comparative review of primary and secondary education models in Karamoja, including fixed, boarding, networked, and mobile schooling approaches. * Produced a comprehensive review of land acquisition experiences in Karamoja, including documentation of registration processes, titling, compensation, and land-use outcomes. * Presented evidence on localization practices during a KRSU learning event, highlighting sectoral approaches and results. * Updated program communication channels, including website content, radio messaging, and tracking of publication and social media engagement. * Conducted a closeout learning event and prepared a summary brief on effective development resilience humanitarian practices and key policy implications for the Karamoja Development Partners' Group (KDPG). * Provided full administrative support to the KDPG, including agenda preparation, material distribution, contact list management, meeting logistics, and documentation. * Collaborated with USAID, the Ministry of Water and Environment, and LIFE-AR teams to review and endorse guidelines for Participatory Water Resources Management. * Concluded technical support to district level and regional learning and coordination platforms across key development sectors. * Coordinated with Tufts headquarters to complete all program closeout responsibilities, including financial reporting, inventory and asset disposition, property transfers, and personnel offboarding. All FY25 activities and expenditures supported TGI's mission to facilitate and administer Tufts University's international research and grant-funded programming in alignment with its exempt purpose.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 41
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

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

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.1%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.81; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 318%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -13.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $234K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $778K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.