Grand Canyon Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450671339
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6025951025
Rating
91
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$74,414
Expenses
$92,258
Assets
$76,131
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Deanna Anderson (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Tom Chapman (Director)
  • Richard DeGraw (Director)
  • Paul Johnson (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Grand Canyon Institute (GCI) is a non-partisan think tank that provides fact-based research and education to decision-makers and the public on policies that affect the economic, fiscal and social future of Arizona. The principal objective of GCI is to elevate the fiscal and economic implications of policy initiatives and decisions for the benefit of policymakers, the media, and the general public.

What it reported doing in 2025

General research projects in addition to a survey of full-time workers by occupational level and union membership of Sky Harbor Airport workers. Analyses including but not limited to: Housing security (cost relative to income, late on rent/mortgage/whether expect to pay rent next month), Moving and children (looking for multiple moves in households with children (undermines academic success), Food Security Index tabulation, Incomes relative to family size. open ended comments categorized). Other research includes but is not limited to costs of Universal ESA Voucher Program.

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 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.6%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -24%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.6% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $70K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.