University of Rhode Island Research Foundation

Overview

Mission

Be a leading driver of economic prosperity for Rhode Island by providing a scalable, flexible shared-support structure for our current and future portfolio entities and engaging uri and research, the manufacturing community, and other regional resources and partnerships to accelerate innovation, advancement, and entrepreneurship in ris commercial and technological ecosystem, particularly uri.

What it reported doing in 2024

Polaris manufacturing extension partnership provided services on behalf of the state of Rhode Island to improve the productivity and resilience of the states manufacturers and to support state incentives to grow the number of workers with the skills needed to sustain the states manufacturers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 86% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364644408
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Headquarters
Kingston, RI, USA
Phone
4018745964
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology N.E.C.

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 6.9%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.9% of revenue deployed · 88.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $10.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $257K · 21 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTIAN COWAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $257,239 total reported compensation
  • PETER RUMSEY (CHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $235,890 total reported compensation
  • MATTHEW WATSON (POLARIS CENTER DIRECTOR): $227,136 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.