Decentralization Research Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 994541398
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Arlington, VA, USA
- Phone
- 5402737382
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $758,268
- Expenses
- $229,394
- Assets
- $553,874
- Liabilities
- $25,000
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
2 people listed
People named in this filing
- CONNOR SPELLISCY (Board PresExec Dir)
- TONY DOUGLAS (Dir of Strategy Ops)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Advocate for decentralization as a fundamental characteristic of emerging technologies. Includes the development of blockchain protocols and applications that are immutable, censorship resistant, transparent, secure, and enable data self-sovereignty.
What it reported doing in 2024
(1) Summit decentralization with leading academics, blockchain industry leaders, and think tanks; (2) Workshop on decentralized autonomous organiztions with academics and blockchain industry leaders (3) Research published on AI and decentralization of emerging tech.
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 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 50
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 30.4%; rating input score 30
- Program expense ratio: 99.7%; rating input score 100
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 69.7%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.41; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 30.4% of revenue deployed · 99.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $229K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
- Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules · includes major donors
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 30/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.