Life Sciences Research Organization Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522291432
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Rockville, MD, USA
Phone
3018026134
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biological & Life Sciences

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,718
Expenses
$57,552
Assets
$69,688
Liabilities
$652

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • WILLIAM MACLEAN JR MD (CHAIR)
  • TAFFY WILLIAMS PHD (DIRECTOR)
  • JACOB STEINBERGMD (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 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The life sciences research organization, inc (lsro) serves to benefit society by evaluating biological information and scientific opinion for the public and private sectors.

What it reported doing in 2013

Life sciences research organization inc.(lsro) provides expert evaluation of issues, opportunites, data, programs and proposals in basic and clinical research for government and policy makers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 55.5%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: -319.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -55.8% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -55.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 55.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $32K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2010 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 56/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.