Future of Life Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471052538
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Narberth, PA, USA
Phone
4089153222
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,273,381
Expenses
$17,399,051
Assets
$6,348,222
Liabilities
$1,259,787

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANTHONY N AGUIRRE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/BOARD SECRETARY)
  • MAX TEGMARK (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANTHONY N AGUIRRE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/BOARD SECRETARY): $513,622 total reported compensation
  • MAX TEGMARK (PRESIDENT): $457,840 total reported compensation
  • EMILIE JAN JAVORSKY (DIRECTOR, FUTURES PROGRAM): $272,172 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 support the future of life foundation by steering transformative technology towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grantmaking and prizes in support of mitigating risks and increasing benefits of transformative technologies

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 40%; rating input score 40; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $15.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $514K · 10 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.8M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 19 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 18 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.