Human Cell Atlas Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850847756
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cambridge, MA, USA
Phone
6177147093
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
General Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,842,219
Expenses
$5,540,729
Assets
$5,091,619
Liabilities
$3,675,221

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

People named in this filing

  • AVIV REGEV (CO-CHAIR OF THE BOARD)
  • SARAH TEICHMANN (CO-CHAIR OF THE BOARD)
  • PIERO CARNINCI (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. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To support the development of a global collaboration among researchers to develop a comprehensive reference map of all human cells as a basis for understanding human health and diagnosing, monitoring and treating disease; recommend best practices concerning the storage, processing, and access of data collected through such efforts; and advance the pursuit of research and education in single cell and spatial genomics and related subjects, including proteomics and other "omics" fields.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule ohuman cell atlas, inc. Operates for educational and scientific purposes to support the development of the human cell atlas - a comprehensive reference map of all human cells. The human cell atlas is an open global consortium that consists of over 3,900 members from over 1,700 institutes and 100 countries. Human cell atlas, inc. Provides sustainable financial management for the central activities of this consortium and ensures global compliance with regional and national data protection regulations. In fiscal year 2025, human cell atlas, inc. Held virtual and in-person meetings, workshops, and seminars, reaching over 1,800 attendees in over 55 countries. Over 450 scientific publications to date are part of the human cell atlas.the organization is committed to creating an open, ethical, equitable and representative atlas for humanity, which will benefit communities worldwide. Human cell atlas data is being made available at the data coordination platform for researchers around the globe. Through fiscal year 2025, data spanning 530 projects, comprising an estimated 70.8 million cells, has been made available to researchers through the platform.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 43% for direct work, and 57% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $365.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 50.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 39% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.7% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.