Cv Starr Research Foundation at the Cooper Union

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132879769
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123534140
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$0
Expenses
$29,982
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$390,808

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAURA SPARKS (PRESIDENT TILL 9/24)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA SPARKS (PRESIDENT TILL 9/24): $636,901 total reported compensation
  • JOHN RUTH (VP-FIN/ADMIN, TREASURER): $413,395 total reported compensation
  • MALCOLM KING (INTERIM PRES. FROM 7/24): $347,225 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule othe c.v. Starr foundation at the cooper union for the advancement of science & art has existed to administer and support ongoing research work, assess the research interest of the cooper community and provide opportunities in new areas of research for faculty and students to work with interested faculty within one of the current research centers or participate in the creation of new centers. The foundation has sought to integrate the solving of real world problems into the classroom environment and generally enhance the overall educational experience at cooper union. It has encouraged professional development for interested faculty members through their involvement in research. In more recent years, as the cooper union has reorganized for greater cost-effectiveness, it has integrated many of the foundation's activities into the ongoing operations of the university, leading to less financial activity on the part of the foundation.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule othe c.v. Starr foundation at the cooper union for the advancement of science & art has existed to administer and support ongoing research work, assess the research interest of the cooper community and provide opportunities in new areas of research for faculty and students to work with interested faculty within one of the current research centers or participate in the creation of new centers. The foundation has sought to integrate the solving of real world problems into the classroom environment and generally enhance the overall educational experience at cooper union. It has encouraged professional development for interested faculty members through their involvement in research. In more recent years, as the cooper union has reorganized for greater cost-effectiveness, it has integrated many of the foundation's activities into the ongoing operations of the university, leading to less financial activity on the part of the foundation. The current-year legal expenses shown in parts i and ix represent the costs of legal services and filing fees related to maintaining patents developed in past years through research conducted within c.v. Starr.

Operating model

Revenue model
No positive adjusted resources. The filing reports no positive adjusted operating resources.
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

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 42
  • Sustainability: 1
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: Limited
  • 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: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1,260.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -55.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -72.3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -76.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $30K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $637K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.