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Social Performance Task Force

EIN 46-1392259 · Bethesda, MD

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair60 out of 100GovernanceStrong90 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

SEE SCHEDULE O

Income
$1.3 million
Spending
$2.3 million
Spent on programs
95%
Reserves
2.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 79%
Employees
3
Volunteers
0
Highest pay
$203,610, executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 60 out of 100. Higher than 33% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 2.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 5% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 77% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 53% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    95% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 51% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    14 of 14 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)
  1. $496,576 spent. SETTING AND PROMOTING STANDARDS:THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS WERE FIRST LAUNCHED IN 2012 AND UPDATED IN 2016. SPTF MANAGES A TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE (TRC) TO FOLLOW A TRANSPARENT AND USER-DRIVEN STANDARD REVISION PROCESS BASED ON THE ISEAL CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR SETTING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS. THE REVISED STANDARDS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO KEEP PACE WITH THE FINANCIAL SECTOR INDUSTRY'S NEEDS AND PROVIDE NEW GUIDELINES ON RESPONSIBLE SAVINGS AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS DELIVERY CHANNELS USING DIGITAL SERVICES AND AGENT MODELS, ALL WITH AN EYE TOWARD MITIGATING RISK AND CREATING BENEFITS FOR CLIENTS. THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS ALSO INCLUDE NEW CONTENT ON RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ENVIRONMENT. THE TRC REVIEWS THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS EVERY 3 YEARS. SPTF IS IN CHARGE OF GATHERING AND PROCESSING ALL FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM THE INCLUSIVE FINANCE INDUSTRY, AS WELL AS WITH THE BROADER IMPACT INVESTMENT COMMUNITY. MANAGE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS - AFTER RELEASING THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS IN 2012, SPTF DEVELOPED SEVERAL RESOURCES TO HELP WITH THEIR AWARENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION, SUCH AS BRIEF HANDOUTS, MESSAGE MANUALS, THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE, CASE STUDIES, GUIDANCE NOTES, AND VIDEOS OF EARLY ADOPTERS. SPTF ALSO COMMUNICATES VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.CONDUCT TRAININGS AND WORKSHOPS - SPTF ATTENDS SELECT CONFERENCES AROUND THE WORLD TO OFFER TRAININGS ON THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS AND SUPPORTING TOOLS AND RESOURCES. SPTF ALSO CONDUCTS MONTHLY ONLINE WEBINAR TRAININGS AND WORKING GROUP MEETINGS TO HIGHLIGHT CASE STUDIES OF GOOD PRACTICE, TO PROVIDE OVERVIEWS OF ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING TOOLS, AND TO SUPPORT PEER TO PEER LEARNING. MANAGE THE SOCIAL INVESTOR WORKING GROUP (SIWG) - THE SIWG HAS +300 INVESTORS FROM +120 ORGANIZATIONS. IT IS A MEMBER-LED GROUP THAT THE SPTF SECRETARIAT BACKSTOPS, COORDINATING LOGISTICS OF ALL MEETINGS, WEBINARS, AND UPDATES OF INITIATIVES. SPTF ANNUAL MEETING - SINCE 2005, THE SPTF HAS BEEN CONDUCTING AN ANNUAL MEETING WHERE INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD COME TOGETHER FOR SEVERAL DAYS OF THOUGHT-PROVOKING DISCUSSIONS ON CORE AND EMERGING TOPICS IN THE FIELD. MEMBERS HAVE DESCRIBED THE MEETING AS "THE STATE OF PRACTICE IN SOCIAL PERFORMANCE AND RESPONSIBLE FINANCE". THIS MEETING IS KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS. THE MEETING IS CONDUCTED IN A DIFFERENT REGION OF THE WORLD EACH YEAR TO ENSURE ALL SPTF MEMBERS CAN ATTEND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, MEETINGS HAVE ALSO ALLOWED THE SPTF TO ENGAGE WITH REGULATORS AND ALSO INCLUDED FIELD TRIPS TO LOCAL FSPS. SECRETARIAT STAFF COORDINATE ALL MEETING LOGISTICS AND DEVELOP AGENDA AND CONTENT OF DISCUSSIONS.
  2. $1.6 million spent. ASSESSING, IMPROVING, DEMONSTRATING:SPTF HAS WORKED WITH ONE OF ITS MEMBERS, CERISE, TO DEVELOP A FREE ASSESSMENT TOOL (CALLED THE SPI4) THAT ENABLES FSPS TO ASSESS THEIR SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AGAINST THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS. THIS TOOL ALLOWS FSPS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR SPM STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND CREATE AN ACTION PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENT. SPTF DOES NOT DIRECTLY PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO FSPS BECAUSE THAT WOULD COMPETE WITH ITS MEMBERS. RATHER, SPTF WORKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MOST UPDATED TRAININGS, RESOURCES, AND TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE TO FSPS AND TA PROVIDERS, AND THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. SPTF ALSO CONDUCTS ONLINE TRAININGS AND PROVIDES FREE RESOURCES IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES TO HELP IMPROVE PRACTICES RELATED TO THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS.TO ADVANCE WORK ON DEMONSTRATING OUTCOMES, THE SPTF RUNS THE OUTCOMES WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES BOTH FOR INVESTORS AND FOR FSPS FOR MEASURING AND MANAGING OUTCOMES AS WELL AS TO CREATE A LIST OF COMMON OUTCOME INDICATORS IN THE AREAS OF POVERTY/HOUSING/ASSETS, BUSINESS, AND RESILIENCE.
  3. $42,564 spent. REPORTING & DEMONSTRATING:REPORTING ON SPM DATA HELPS THE RESPONSIBLE INCLUSIVE FINANCE SECTOR BE TRANSPARENT, ENSURES THE DATA IS AVAILABLE TO INVESTORS, AND ALLOWS THE INDUSTRY TO BENCHMARK AND ANALYZE TRENDS. SPTF PLAYS A COORDINATING ROLE IN THIS ACTIVITY AS MIX, CERISE AND THE RATING AGENCIES CONDUCT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE DIRECT WORK IN COLLECTION OF DATA. SPTF IS MANAGING DISCUSSION AMONGST THESE ACTORS TO CONSOLIDATE THIS SPM INFORMATION ONTO A COMMON DATA PLATFORM SO THAT IT IS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO USERS.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since July 2014.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.