Nuclear Threat Initiative Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522289435
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022964810
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arms Control, Peace

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,840,825
Expenses
$23,281,998
Assets
$88,425,058
Liabilities
$14,483,511

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Carmen MacDougall (Senior Vice President and Acting Chief Operating Officer)
  • Amy Hargrett (Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Vice President)
  • Joan Rohlfing (President and COO, Board of Directors)
  • Christine E Wormuth (President and CEO, Board of Directors)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ernest J Moniz (Co-Chair, Board of Directors): $494,011 total reported compensation
  • Carmen MacDougall (Senior Vice President and Acting Chief Operating Officer): $467,757 total reported compensation
  • Amy Hargrett (Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Vice President): $449,909 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats imperiling humanity. NTI works to transform global security by developing and advancing practical, system level solutions that reduce catastrophic risks. NTI carries out its mission through policy development, technical analysis, stakeholder engagement, and the convening of government leaders, technical experts, the private sector, and international organizations. NTI's work aims to prevent the spread and use of the world's most dangerous weapons and technologies, strengthen global norms and governance, and reduce the risk of large-scale harm to people and societies worldwide.

What it reported doing in 2025

Biological Policy and Programs (NTI | bio). In 2025, NTI | bio reduced biological risks imperiling humanity by strengthening biotechnology governance, reducing the risk of bioweapon development and use, and fostering the next generation of global biosecurity leaders. The AIxBio Global Forum, launched by NTI | bio, emerged as the leading international platform for collective action to reduce risks at the intersection of AI and the life sciences (AIxBio). The Forum's High-Level Statement on Biosecurity Risks at the Convergence of AI and the Life Sciences, released in June 2025 with prominent signatories, outlined escalating AIxBio risks and called for urgent global action to establish policy and technical guardrails to prevent misuse of AIxBio capabilities while supporting innovation. During the Munich Security Conference, NTI convened senior policymakers, technologists, and security experts for a high-level tabletop exercise simulating an AI-enabled biological attack by an extremist group that resulted in a devastating pandemic. The resulting report, Safeguarding Against Global Catastrophe, delivered concrete actions for governments, industry, and philanthropic organizations, including funding a comprehensive research and development agenda to establish effective guardrails for AIxBio technologies and applications. In August NTI | bio released Enhancing Transparency for Bioscience Research and Development, proposing practical measures to improve confidence in treaty compliance and build more credible capabilities to identify non-compliance. These ideas, arriving as states parties reopened dormant discussions on Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) verification, were welcomed as constructive contributions to strengthening the international ban on bioweapon development and use. NTI | bio advanced the International Bio Funders Compact, a groundbreaking commitment to embed biosecurity considerations into life science grantmaking. Through the Bio Funders Forum, NTI | bio co-convened leading science funders to share best practices and develop risk-reduction strategies to advance life science research advances safely and responsibly. In December, NTI | bio released Guidance for Assessing Biosecurity and Biosafety Risks, providing funders a practical, three-step framework to evaluate and mitigate risks in research proposals. NTI | bio's Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition challenged young leaders to wrestle with the evolving definition of biological weapons and propose actions the international community should take to reduce associated risks. The winning team recommended updates to the BWC to address emerging threats targeting critical infrastructure and digital systems. The winners presented at the December 2025 BWC Working Group meetings, along with seven additional rising biosecurity leaders-all part of NTI's Next Generation Delegation. NTI | bio expanded its engagement with Congress to strengthen U.S. biosecurity and modernize biotechnology governance. Partnering with U.S. Senator Todd Young, NTI | bio hosted Biosecurity and Innovation in the Age of AI, advancing policy recommendations to strengthen biosecurity standards and the U.S. bioeconomy. This event and related efforts highlighted critical gaps in the current biotechnology oversight landscape, including the absence of a coordinating federal authority on biosafety and biosecurity, uneven adoption of DNA synthesis screening, and increasing risks of misuse of AI-enabled biology tools, as well as practical policy actions to address them.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -38.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.8; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $17.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $494K · 41 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.