Griffiss Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 030500249
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Rome, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3158381696
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Computer Science
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,582,580
- Expenses
- $26,330,888
- Assets
- $8,944,067
- Liabilities
- $5,149,862
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HEATHER HAGE (CURRENT PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- HEATHER HAGE (CURRENT PRESIDENT & CEO): $328,232 total reported compensation
- MATTHEW MROZ (EXECUTIVE VP OF STRATEGIC PROGRAMS): $276,067 total reported compensation
- DEAN KORSAK (GENERAL COUNSEL AND CORPOR): $275,738 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 griffiss institute aims to develop the next generation of stem talent and defense technologies that will strengthen u.s. National security and create economic opportunity for our region, state and nation.
What it reported doing in 2025
The primary role of the gi is to advocate and facilitate the co-operation of private industry, academia, and government in developing the next generation of stem talent and defense technologies that will strengthen u.s. National security and create economic opportunity for our region, state and nation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 87%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $474.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 81.2%; rating input score 81; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 8.4%; rating input score 8; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 17.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 87% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $328K · 25 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.3M reported
- Consistency: 33 of 36 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.