Defense Research Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 390978501
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3127951101
- Rating confidence
- Limited
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,575,134
- Expenses
- $12,563,126
- Assets
- $16,969,724
- Liabilities
- $6,854,410
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
55 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DEAN MARTINEZ (CEO)
- ANNE M TALCOTT (PRESIDENT)
- R JEFFREY LOWE (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
- JILL CRANSTON RICE (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
- SARA M TURNER (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
- LANA A OLSON (IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT (TO OCT '24))
Highest reported compensation
- DEAN MARTINEZ (CEO): $635,322 total reported compensation
- SEAN M DOLAN (COO): $364,799 total reported compensation
- THOMAS FOLEY (VP, ENGAGEMENT): $215,869 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The defense research institute, inc. (dri), a Wisconsin not-for-profit corporation, is involved in the following foles: to teach, educate, and improve the skills of the defense law practitioner; to strive for improvement in the civil justice system; to be a counterpoint to the american association of justice; to be responsible to its members in dealing with economic realities of the law practice; and to celebrat and promote the role of lawyers in the broader society. Dri's revenues are composed primarily of dues and fees from educational seminars from defense lawyers throughout the united states.
What it reported doing in 2024
The defense research institute (dri) carries out research and publishes its findings in committee specific and general membership newsletters advancing the kowledge of members in law and related areas. Dri also publishes for the defense the only national monthy magazine written expressly for defense practitioners. Each month, over 40,000 prestigious professionals receive this flagship publication. Additionally, dri publishes in-house defense quarterly(idq) for its membership. Idq was developed to address the specific needs of in-house defense practitioners. This new publication presents a uniqure combination of feature full-length articles wrriten by experienced dri members and substantive information and reports acquired from leading content providers.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
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: NotEnoughData
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.35; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 36 of 37 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $635K · 55 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.8M reported
- Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.