Experiment Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
990758904
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
4157638274
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
General Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,047,139
Expenses
$219,076
Assets
$1,314,898
Liabilities
$16,400

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID LANG (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID LANG (PRESIDENT): $75,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The experiment foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reimagining how science is funded and who gets to participate. Through partnerships with philanthropies, federal agencies, and companies, the foundation facilitates innovative grantmaking models-including challenge grants and patronage programs supporting independent researchers and novel scientific ideas, the experiment foundation helps unlock scientific creativity and builds new pathways for public engagement in science.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the experiment foundation focused on three primary initiatives supporting early-stage scientific and environmental innovation.first, the foundation continued administering the greenhouse gas removal ideation prize, a multi-phase funding program designed to surface and support early-stage ideas for greenhouse gas removal. Second, the foundation launched and administered the California biodiversity grant program, which provided funding to projects working to protect and restore biodiversity across California. The program supported a cohort of grantees addressing conservation challenges through research, monitoring, and community-based environmental stewardship.finally, the foundation launched the beyond the journal awards, a new recognition program celebrating leaders in open science who are advancing research communication, collaboration, and scientific culture beyond traditional academic publishing.together, these initiatives advanced the experiment foundation's mission to support emerging ideas, recognize scientific leadership, and direct funding to individuals and teams

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 15.1%; rating input score 15
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $69.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 79.1%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 178.2% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 74.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 94.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 15.1% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $158K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 15/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.