Philosophical Society of Washington
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521073697
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2025992858
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $160,997
- Expenses
- $116,162
- Assets
- $686,649
- Liabilities
- $23,066
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Larry Millstein (President and Program Director)
- Robert Thompson (Vice President (to March 2025); Treasurer)
- Robin Taylor (Corresponding Secretary & Executive Director)
- Carey Lisse (Member at Large (to March 2025); Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Larry Millstein (President and Program Director)
- Robert Thompson (Vice President (to March 2025); Treasurer)
- Robin Taylor (Corresponding Secretary & Executive 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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Educational, scientific, and professional society organized in 1871 by Joseph Henry (the first secretary of the Smithsonian) providing science lectures, education, and discussion to its members and the public for the promotion of science, the advancement of learning, and the free exchange of views among its members and attendees on scientific subjects. Lectures and the accompanying discussion are recorded and made available to all, free of charge, on the Society's video channels.
What it reported doing in 2024
PSW Science is one of the oldest scientific societies in Washington, DC founded in 1871 by Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. It presents 16-20 science lectures a year, free and open to the public with discussion during and after the lecture. Approximately 1200 to 1500 people attend each year; individual lecture attendance is approximately 80-200. There is a pre-lecture reception and dinner with the speaker before the lecture; dinner attendees pay an event fee to cover costs; attendance is 20-50 per lecture. The receptions and dinners are designed to provide ample opportunity for interaction among the attendees with the speaker, and many collaborations have been initiated at these gatherings. The lectures address the scientific issues of the day and there is robust discussion before, during, and after the lecture. The lecturers are usually leading scientists in the field or leaders of important scientific organizations. The lectures are in-depth and sophisticated, about an hour in length followed by a robust question and answer period of approximately 30 to 60 minutes. The lectures are geared to address three levels of discourse: professional scientists in the field of the lecturer, scientists in other fields, and others who are interested in the topic but are not scientific specialists. The lectures are not basic summaries or short popular-style snippets of information, but are designed to address the substantive technical nature of the work being presented. PSW Science has a strong interdisciplinary educational mission to bring together scientists and others who work in diverse fields and diverse institutions of academia, industry, and government so that they will benefit from discussion with others outside of their fields and institutions. PSW Science engages all areas of science, including both physical and life science, with lectures in the areas of astronomy, planetary and earth science, cosmology, biomedical science, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, artificial intelligence, biology, and engineering, to name just a few. Members and regular attendees work in industry, government, and academia. Many members and regular attendees work for or with federal agencies, such as NASA, NIST, NSF, DOE, and NIH. Members and regular attendees include students, young-career professionals, and established scientists. One of the primary goals of PSW Science is to provide an opportunity for students and younger professionals to meet and interact with prominent scientists.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 75
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.8%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $50.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 27.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.91; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.8% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $102K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.