Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131739923
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Ithaca, NY, USA
Phone
6072541225
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biological & Life Sciences

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,540,935
Expenses
$17,990,625
Assets
$85,511,204
Liabilities
$9,377,581

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SILVIA RESTREPO (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SILVIA RESTREPO (PRESIDENT): $394,841 total reported compensation
  • MARIA HARRISON (PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR): $297,250 total reported compensation
  • ZHANGJUN FEI (PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR): $262,216 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance and communicate scientific discovery in plant biology to improve agriculture, protect the environment and enhance human health.

What it reported doing in 2024

Improve agriculture/sustainable food production: bti scientists advance, communicate, and apply plant research towards producing an increasingly sustainable food supply. Food security analysis by the united nations has cited climate change, natural disaster, rapid urbanization and unprecendented population growth as great challenges to the sustainable future of the world food supply. At bti, scientists are investigating, at the molecular level, how plants grow, respond to light, and make use on a scale that can meet demand. Current research is focused on improving the nutritive quality of food, increasing yield and furthering the sustainability of agronomically viable plant species. Specific research focuses on longer shelflife, crops that produce higher yield with less inputs, reduced need for chemical fertilization, and plants with higher tolerance for environmental stressors such as drough, salinity, heat and cold.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th 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: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95%; rating input score 95; 28th 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: -15.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.75; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.3%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.2% of revenue deployed · 78.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $395K · 27 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $102K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.