Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475672343
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Gainesville, FL, USA
Phone
3525145251
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$519,862
Expenses
$520,044
Assets
$26,928
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert Cohen (President & Treasurer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Doug Watson (Board Member): $105,984 total reported compensation
  • William Martin Fleming (Board Member): $36,000 total reported compensation
  • Robert Cohen (President & Treasurer): $5,608 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We seek to bring timeless wisdom insights into dialogue with contemporary science to deepen our understanding of consciousness and the nature of reality.

What it reported doing in 2025

Supported the content design of the largest science museum in India. This is a four-story museum describing the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science with an emphasis on a consciousness based universe. The museum is due to open in phases beginning in 2027 and will likely be the most popular museum in India. **Produced three monographs and began production of five books on the nature of science and spirituality. The book topics include the nature of consciousness, environmental issues, philosophical analysis and ancient math as applied to modern problems. **Hosted one conference on evolution. **Attended two conferences as attendees and speakers.

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 83% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 34
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $265.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.3%; rating input score 98; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 40%; rating input score 40; 14th 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.05; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -27% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.7% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $439K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $106K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.