Perimeter Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
900253769
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Phone
(+1) 519-569-7600
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$79,088,458
Expenses
$21,165,333
Assets
$365,233,386
Liabilities
$1,621,586

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROB MYERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (END NOV 2024))
  • MARCELA CARENA LOPEZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (BEG NOV 2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • ROB MYERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (END NOV 2024)): $289,624 total reported compensation
  • PAUL SMITH (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $211,427 total reported compensation
  • DAVIDE GAIOTTO (FACULTY): $211,205 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Perimeter Institute is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from the private sector and academic community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Outreach - to develop and maintain a vigorous public outreach program geared to canadians of all ages to promote the excitement of fundamental inquiry and scientific discovery.1) delivered 106 workshops to 2,306 educators in 2024/25;2) reached over 55,000 teachers globally by teacher training network;3) created educational resources now used in 142 countries;4) delivered "gophysics! And "physica phantastica" student workshops to 548 students in 2024/25;5) delivered "inspiring future women in science" to 153 students;6) attracted over 5.6 million youtube video views in 2024/2025; with 28.6 million views since inception;7) held 8 public events for almost 6,000 attendees in 2024/2025;8) generated 850,000 website page views in 2024/25;9) provided 64,000 podcast downloads in 2024/25

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 99% 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 44
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.1%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 61.5%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 12.7%; rating input score 13; 6th 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; 77th 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: Fail
    • 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: 73.2%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.26; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 66.1% of revenue deployed · 61.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $290K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.