Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161117777
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Amherst, NY, USA
Phone
7166367571
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,333,904
Expenses
$1,468,550
Assets
$461,581
Liabilities
$541,953

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RONALD LINDSAY (PRESIDENT, CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • RONALD LINDSAY (PRESIDENT, CEO): $96,374 total reported compensation
  • BARRY KARR (CFO, TREASURER): $88,342 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS FLYNN (SECRETARY): $66,182 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To publish scholarly magazines and newsletters ("skeptical inquirer" and "skeptical briefs") & to hold educational conferences to increase public appreciation for science education.

What it reported doing in 2014

Publicationsskeptical inquiry magazine and skeptical briefs.publications explore extraordinary claims from a scientific perspective. They examine what the scientific community knows about controversial subjects within the realms of the paranormal and elsewhere. The publications expose pseudoscience and provide expert commentary on hot button issues within society. They avoid the sensationalism often presented by the press, television, and movies and provide critical thinking tools to examine the information presented within the media and online.

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 97% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.17; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -27.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.2% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.