Society for Laboratory Automation and Sc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272620284
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
- Location
- Oak Brook, IL, USA
- Phone
- 6302567527
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,813,666
- Expenses
- $11,303,127
- Assets
- $15,511,105
- Liabilities
- $7,407,702
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MELISSA CRISP PHD (BOARD PRESIDENT)
- MADHU NAG PHD (BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT)
- VICKI LOISE (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- VICKI LOISE (CEO): $387,210 total reported compensation
- AMY WILKINSON (DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL EVENTS): $232,413 total reported compensation
- JILL HRONEK (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & CO): $187,135 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Society for laboratory automation (slas) brings together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building. The mission of slas is to be a global organization providing forums for education and information exchange to encourage the study and the advancement of the science and practice of laboratory automation and screening.
What it reported doing in 2025
The awards program advances slas's charitable, educational, and scientific purposes by: (i) encouraging, honoring, and highlighting significant scientific or educational contributions to laboratory science and technology; (ii) encouraging students to explore and learn about laboratory science and technology; and (iii) encouraging contributions to slas's scientific and educational programs by recognizing exceptional presentations, posters, and articles.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: -15.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.37; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $9.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $387K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.5M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.