Polyvagal Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
845084757
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Steamboat Springs, CO, USA
Phone
3032634518
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,913,683
Expenses
$1,756,458
Assets
$754,670
Liabilities
$8,846

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RANDALL REDFIELD (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • RANDALL REDFIELD (CEO): $151,958 total reported compensation
  • SUZANNE CAVASSA (COO): $132,313 total reported compensation
  • CAROLINE VASQUEZ (DIRECTOR MKTING): $118,152 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Polyvagal Institute (PVI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating professionals in the areas of healthcare and education for a greater understanding of polyvagal theory, a theory developed by Dr. Stephen Porges which bridges physiological and psychological disciplines.

What it reported doing in 2025

Polyvagal Institute supports scientific, education and charitable purposes related to the humane principles delineated in Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

MIXED - 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 51.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85% of revenue deployed · 93.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 9 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.