Human Energy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 863620697
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Orinda, CA, USA
- Phone
- 9252866761
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Science and Technology N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $918,811
- Expenses
- $815,561
- Assets
- $413,806
- Liabilities
- $48,229
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Sheila Hassell Hughes (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Sheila Hassell Hughes (CEO): $156,457 total reported compensation
- Nancy Topp (CFO): $71,358 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Human Energy is a catalytic hub for evolving collective consciousness. We ignite shared human purpose and optimism by equipping people to recognize and shape this transformative phase in human evolution.
What it reported doing in 2025
Dissemination of the "Third Story of the Universe" based on Teilhard de Chardin's scientific work and the work of other scientists with compatible theories. Dissemination includes videos, podcasts, popular papers, books, interviews, presentations, lectures, website media, and webinar courses.Developed a new Global Salon Series strategy and hosted two Salon events, with featured panels, interactive discussion, livestream, and recording: "Human Energy for Work and Life: Cultivating Agency, Connection and Purpose in the Age of AI" (Fordham University, New York City, June 12, 2025) and "Alignment for a Major Evolutionary Transition: The Future of Humanity and AI" (Shack 15, San Francisco, November 11, 2025)
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Affiliate-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
- 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 11.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -9.8% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $697K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 6 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $115K reported
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.