Oregon Research Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930495655
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Springfield, OR, USA
Phone
5414842123
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Behavioral Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,759,740
Expenses
$7,746,314
Assets
$1,351,801
Liabilities
$1,097,719

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KEITH SMOLKOWSKI (BOARD MEMBER, SENIOR SCIENTIST): $259,729 total reported compensation
  • FUZHONG LI (SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST): $253,339 total reported compensation
  • ALEXANDRA HAMILTON (BOARD MEMBER, SENIOR SCIENTIST): $210,308 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Oregon research institute is an independent behavioral sciences research center dedicated to understanding human behavior and improving the quality of human life through the prevention and treatment of health, educational, and social problems.

What it reported doing in 2024

Treating tobacco, alcohol and illegal drug use: ori's work in this area dates from research funding obtained in the late 1970s to study tobacco use in young people. Since then, research interest has broadened to include research on the prevention of alcohol and other drug use among youth. Two important ori longitudinal studies, one on peer and family influences on youth drug use, and the other on young children's knowledge of and intent to use alcohol and drugs - have provided valuable guidance in the development of substance abuse prevention programs.decision research: ori scientists in this area investigate human judgment, decision making, and risk through basic research and in a variety of applied areas including aviation, business, environmental issues, finance, healthcare, intelligence analysis, and terrorism.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 80% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 voting board members are independent and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.5%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 69.6%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7,290.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 38.5%; rating input score 38; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.81; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.5% of revenue deployed · 69.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $260K · 17 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 38/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.