Space Studies Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222175320
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2017–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2016
Location
North Hollywood, CA, USA
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,612
Expenses
$28,399
Assets
$104,981
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY HUDSON (PRESIDENT TRUSTEE)
  • ROBERT SMITH (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GARY HUDSON (PRESIDENT TRUSTEE)
  • ANNE HUDSON (SECRETARY TRUSTEE)
  • ROBIN SNELSON (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Research & Education- Space Settlement

What it reported doing in 2023

Research & Development of the Mach effect gravity assist thruster, a method to propel spacecraft without propellant, by funding improvements in lab equipment & measuring technology

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up. 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: 35
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36.9%; rating input score 37
  • Program expense ratio: 30.6%; rating input score 31

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.7; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -52% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -33.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36.9% of revenue deployed · 30.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2017 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.