Erowid Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203256212
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Grass Valley, CA, USA
Phone
4159633559
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health, Crisis Intervention N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$423,518
Expenses
$660,937
Assets
$554,990
Liabilities
$21,305

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • B Lincoln (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • C Blomquist (Treasurer): $100,386 total reported compensation
  • B Lincoln (President): $100,386 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide & facilitate access to objective, accurate, and non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants chemicals, drugs, technologies, and related issues. Erowid also supports and trains information providers and assists medical, legal, and scientific experts in developing resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Erowid Center runs a laboratory drug checking program that analyzes the contents of street samples of psychoactive drugs, including: novel psychoactive substances (NPS); stimulants and euphoric stimulants; psychedelics; research chemicals; street heroin; fentanyl; and other opioids; as well as commercial and counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Samples are tested at a licensed laboratory and the results are published online at DrugsData.org. Erowid's DrugsData project also collects, manages, reviews, and presents laboratory-testing results from other US and international organizations. This information is made publicly available to help harm-reduction efforts, medical personnel, researchers, and the public. In 2024, 1,001 samples were tested through this project and 199 unique substances were detected. These results were published alongside results for 799 samples tested by other organizations. An average of 30,000 result pages were viewed per day, with an average 15,000 unique visitors per day. Results were regularly published on social media to Erowid's more than 180,000 followers. Erowid continued its partnerships with research groups doing lab validation of on-site analytical tools such as compact FTIR and fentanyl and xylazine test strips. A portion of the expenses and revenue associated with DrugsData research are included in the Drug Trend & Novel Psychoactive Substance and Research program services described below. This service was interrupted on April 10, 2024, due to an unexpected regulatory change and was unable to conduct operations through the end of 2024.

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 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -56.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -20.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $552K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.