Southwest Research Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
741070544
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone
+1 210 684 5111
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Science and Technology N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$978,595,721
Expenses
$935,178,709
Assets
$1,171,739,703
Liabilities
$290,553,935

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

37 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Adam Hamilton (Pres./CEO/Dir.)
  • Robin Canup (Vice President)
  • C Nils Smith (Vice President)
  • Steven D Marty (Vice President)
  • Michael K McLelland (Vice President)
  • Steven W Dellenback (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Adam Hamilton (Pres./CEO/Dir.): $1,799,081 total reported compensation
  • Walter D Downing Jr (Exec.VP/COO/Dir): $1,090,879 total reported compensation
  • James L Burch (Sr. Vice Pres.): $795,913 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We are R&D problem solvers, providing independent, premier services to government and industry clients. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is a premier independent nonprofit, specializing in applied research and development (R&D). We support government and industry clients with scientific discovery, the development of new technologies, independent testing, analysis and verification, and industry-specific consortia. Spanning 10 technical divisions that serve an array of market segments, we like to say our research extends from Deep Sea to Deep Space® and practically everywhere in between. SwRI’s mission champions science and technology for the benefit of government, industry and humankind. 2. What does SwRI do? SwRI provides applied science and engineering R&D, and standard and custom testing.

What it reported doing in 2024

Southwest Research Institute exists to benefit government, industry and the public by conducting innovative applied and basic research developing/transferring technology; establishing, maintaining and operating research facilities; and providing a challenging and rewarding work environment to fulfill its scientific, charitable, testing for public safety, literary and educational purposes. During fiscal year 2025, research yielded 376 papers published, 507 technical presentations, 21 technical podcasts, 58 webinars, and 36 streaming technical media presentations, as well as 26 U.S. patent awards, 29 U.S. patent applications filed, and 42 invention disclosures submitted. Areas of research and development included chemistry and chemical engineering, fire safety technology, automotive engineering, powertrain engineering, emissions, space systems, planetary science, fuels and lubricants, intelligent systems, applied power, applied physics, space science, defense and intelligence solutions, material science, structural mechanical engineering, and solar system science and exploration. The 2025 Annual Report is available at https://www.swri.org/newsroom/annual-report/2025/2025-annual-report. Additional information regarding federal government technical programs is available by searching for Southwest Research Institute's single audit at http://harvester.census.gov/facdissem/. As a nonprofit research and development organization, SwRI invests in innovation, using our robust internal research and development (IR&D) program to expand and enhance our expertise and encourage our staff's professional growth. In 2025, SwRI initiated 140 IR&D new projects, investing more than $13 million in internal research, including quick-look and focused research programs. IR&D fulfills the Institute's objective of conducting innovative activities for the benefit of industry, the government and humankind. Through internal research, we increase our technical capabilities, expand our reputation as a leader in science and technology, and invest in technology our clients may need in the future. The program also allows engineers and scientists to grow in their technical fields by providing freedom to explore innovative and unproven concepts. Internal Research Projects for 2025 are described at https://www.swri.org/newsroom/annual-report/2025/2025-annual-report.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 90.2%; rating input score 90; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 25th 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: 4.4%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 84.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $790.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.8M · 37 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $63.3M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 43 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.