Ergo Impact Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
992339731
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
3055464813
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,731,127
Expenses
$1,455,723
Assets
$3,224,771
Liabilities
$12,466

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAX HENDERSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • KELLIE LIKET (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MAX HENDERSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $697,148 total reported compensation
  • KELLIE LIKET (PRESIDENT): $330,267 total reported compensation
  • DAVID TETER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (END MAY 2025)): $66,001 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Ergo impact's mission is to support solutions to large, global problems and promote the safe use of artificial intelligence, emerging biological technology and other emerging technologies in our society. Ergo impact will help find, fund and scale solutions to important global problems.

What it reported doing in 2025

During tax year 2025, ergo impact continued its work finding, funding and scaling the most promising people and solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

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 99% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 33
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 27.4%; rating input score 27
  • Program expense ratio: 70.2%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $47.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 61%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.22; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 54.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 67% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 107.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 27.4% of revenue deployed · 70.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $697K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.