Association of Independent Research Institutes Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521624453
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
Phone
6094151771
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$748,626
Expenses
$754,752
Assets
$2,364,621
Liabilities
$16,700

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JERILYN MITCHELL BOWERS (Past President)
  • ADAM COHEN ESQ (President Elect)
  • DAVID M CABRERA (President)
  • Jennifer Pawlosky (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • JERILYN MITCHELL BOWERS (Past President)
  • BRIAN VAN WEELE (Director)
  • ADAM COHEN ESQ (President Elect)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Contribute to the advancement of non-profit independent research institutes

What it reported doing in 2025

The overall goal of airi is to contribute to the advancement of non-profit independent research in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Airi exists to promote communication among institutes' management staff about common interests and to pursue issues at the federal government level that are in the interest of member institutes. Non-profit research institutes are sometimes subject to different federal regulations and laws than other institutions conducting research, leading to inconsistent treatment that can be detrimental to the funding of the best researchers, regardless of their institutional affiliation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 94.9%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.13; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96% of revenue deployed · 94.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $717K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $602K reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.