Institute for Research on Pure Unlimited Love

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341961143
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Stony Brook, NY, USA
Phone
2169269244
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Medical Research N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$59,237
Expenses
$115,920
Assets
$748,826
Liabilities
$5,399

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN G POST PHD (PRESIDENT/TREASURER/TRUSTEE)
  • MATTHEW T LEE PHD (VICE PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE)

People named in this filing

  • STEPHEN G POST PHD (PRESIDENT/TREASURER/TRUSTEE)
  • MATTHEW T LEE PHD (VICE PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE)
  • ENSIGN J COWELL (TRUSTEE)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To encourage, support and disseminate high level scientific research on unlimited love, defined as other-regarding love in all its manifestations from compassion and kindness to altruism and volunteerism.

What it reported doing in 2025

From 7-1-25 to 6-30-26, The Institute achieved many important objectives. We were featured at the Positive Prime Conference from Oct. 31 through November 5 in Boston at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, featuring Dr. Posts new book Pure Unlimited Love: Science and the Seven Paths to Inner Peace (published Nov. 2025).Dr. Post, Dr. Lee, and others there represented the Institute. The Institute was also featured at the closing plenary of the Harvard/Mass General Hospital annual conference on Mind-Body Medicine, where Dr. Post gave a full conclusion address. The Institute conducted and completed its annual fundraising drive successfully, including the first of five $20,000 gifts from a donor who was a friend of John Templeton for years, and who was happy with the conference report. Dr. Post conducted more than 30 podcasts on pure unlimited love, and an equal number of radio interviews. Thomas J. Oord completed his book A Systematic Theology of Love, Vol. 1, God and Creation. Dr. Oord was supported in this effort in part by an Institute grant; Matthew T. Lee continued his work with the Flourishing Network of Harvard University, and co-edited Leadership for Flourishing (Oxford University Press, 2025). The Institute convened its annual board meeting in Cleveland in July 1985, with its full board. The Institute planned and sponsored a major academic conference at Linacre College of Oxford University, UK, June 1-3, 2026. The conference was titled The Love of Nature and the Nature of Love. We produced an edited book, with much help from Dr. Oord, who received an honorarium from the Institute for his work.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 58.2%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 84.4%; rating input score 84; 54th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -95.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.46; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 58.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $67K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.