Seismic Catalyst Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
333325360
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Wilmington, DE, USA
Phone
2026589978
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Computer Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,248,744
Expenses
$2,781,299
Assets
$2,591,930
Liabilities
$124,485

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SANDER VOLTEN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • SANDER VOLTEN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $277,853 total reported compensation
  • ALONA ELKAYAM (CREATIVE OFFICER): $137,958 total reported compensation
  • PHILIP TRIPPENBACH (STRATEGY DIRECTOR): $110,766 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote the use and development of articial intelligence technology in a manner that is safe, fair and beneficial for our society and our future.

What it reported doing in 2025

In its first year of operations, seismic foundation provided specialist research, communications and campaign expertise that advocacy organizations, researchers and policymakers need to reach and educate the public. The public are direct beneficiaries of the foundation's research and communication efforts, receiving transparent, unbiased information on ai risks, perceptions of ai and the ai landscape today. The foundation focuses primarily on us and eu publics, and these audiences are detailed in the foundation's report, "on the razor's edge."the foundation's work is comprised of two streams: research and intelligence, and communications and educational campaign orchestration. With research and intelligence, the foundation conducts and commissions rigorous research to understand public attitudes, identify actionable audience segments, and measure educational campaign effectiveness. With communications and educational campaign orchestration, the foundation translates research findings into educational campaigns that build cultural salience, instituting ai governance as a concern that is urgent, personal and actionable for public audiences. This work is non-partisan.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 total spending goes to programs and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 43.4%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $48.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th 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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 47%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 43.4% of revenue deployed · 82% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $278K · 6 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.