Samueli Institute for Information Biology

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330935065
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone
2405932159
Rating
45
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Medical Research N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,000
Expenses
$89,511
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • WAYNE JONAS (FORMER OFFICER): $510,825 total reported compensation
  • JOAN A G WALTER (COO & TREASURER): $397,149 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to create a flourishing society through the scientific exploration of wellness and whole-person healing.

What it reported doing in 2017

Center for military medical research: the center for military medical research program is the unit within the institute that executes the majority of the research projects that are funded through our dod grants. In the first quarter of fy17, the institute carried several of these grants, including conducting research on the elements of health preservation within the armed forces, research on pain and stress in patients undergoing surgery at a major military medical center, a clinical trial of chiropractic care for chronic and recurrent back pain in military personnel, and the use of dietary supplements for pain management. In fy18 only one military medical research contract was active.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 21
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 10
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 28.8%; rating input score 29
  • Program expense ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 16
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -79%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1,014.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -73.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -89.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -87.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 28.8% of revenue deployed · 16.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $511K · 5 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2014 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 29/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.