Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory

Overview

Mission

To improve human health by discovering fundamental mechanisms of tissue repair, aging and regeneration, translating our discoveries for the benefit of medicine and society, and developing the next generation of scientific leaders.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education: The MDI Biological Laboratory provides hands-on biomedical training to hundreds of students and professional from all around the world each year. 2024 was a milestone year for MDI Biological Laboratory as we celebrated the renewal of our Maine INBRE grant, a collaborative effort of 17 education and research institutions working to boost the State's research capacity and create a bioscience workforce in Maine.In 2024, we welcomed a new innovative course to campus, ReBilD: Emerging Leaders in Regenerative Biology and Development which explored multiple models for both developmental and regenerative biology through comparative biology experiments. This course was one of 21 courses and conferences hosted by MDI Bio Lab over the course of the year. We welcomed 27 master's and Ph.D. students from 14 countries, in addition to 22 undergraduate summer fellowship students. Our citizen science program facilitated 328 projects through Anecdata.org, identifying harmful algal cells in Frenchman Bay, testing well water and soil samples for the presence of arsenic, and other toxins.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010202467
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Salisbury Cove, ME, USA
Phone
2072883605
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biological & Life Sciences

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd 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: 10.6%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.1% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $13.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $407K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $142K reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Hermann Haller MD (President): $406,546 total reported compensation
  • Iain A Drummond PhD (VP of Research): $227,284 total reported compensation
  • Claudine Lurvey (VP of Finances): $187,992 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.