World Policy Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260533782
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2124815005
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$603,664
Expenses
$846,816
Assets
$100,931
Liabilities
$476,609

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CATHERINE MALOFF (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CATHERINE MALOFF (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $103,019 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

A non-partisan source of global policy analysis and thought leadership that focuses on complex challenges that demand cooperative policy solutions to achieve: an inclusive and sustainable global market economy, engaged global civic participation and effective governance, and collaborative approaches to national and global security. It seeks to introduce fresh ideas and new voices on critical shared issues -- like migration, climate change, technology, economic development, human rights, and counter-terrorism -that cannot be solved from traditional "foreign-versus-domestic" boxes.

What it reported doing in 2016

Progressive global policy and thought leadership

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 7
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -40.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 4.72; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.9% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 72.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $610K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 23 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2013 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.