The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942856737
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5108488152
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$256,381
Expenses
$2,453,646
Assets
$1,151,307
Liabilities
$29,460

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR ROBERT JOHN RUSSELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR ROBERT JOHN RUSSELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $193,998 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To conduct and sponsor research and education in the interdisciplinary field of theology and the natural sciences.

What it reported doing in 2015

The center for theology and the natural sciences (ctns)established the charles h. Townes graduate student fellowship in 2005 in order to help support doctoral students at the graduate theological union working in science and theology. Two fellowships were awarded in 2015.the ctns-vatican obseratory program collaborates research on scientific perspectives on divine action in the world, which led to a publication with fifteen authors for a new series in 2007, physics and cosmology: scientific perspectives on the problem of natural evil. Two staff members work on this project part time.teaching: ctns provides teaching resources to the gtu consortium including courses for credit at them.div., m.a. And ph.d levels, as well as service on gtu m.a. And ph.d. Committees. One person works on this up to half-time.ctns has created an endowed chair in theology and science in residence at the gtu named the ian g. Barbour chair in theology and science. The official captial campaign for the chair was finishedin 2012.ctns was awarded a research grant from calvin college for a project entitled "saturn." this project is a multiyear grant for examing the scientific and theological understandings of randomness in nature. Three staff members are working part time on the project.ctns was awarded a grant from the john templeton foundation for a project entitled "planning grant: technical assessment of three prior jtf-funded programs by ctns and strategies for its future." the purpose of the grant is to try to determine the success of past grant projects the center has run for jtf, including srcp, ssq, and stars. Three staff members are working part time on the project.ctns was given a donation for a small project in astrotheology. The purpose of the project is to create new written materials about the field of astrotheology, including a co-authored article, and the submission of a manuscript for publication. One staff member is working part time on the project. Ctns is in the process of merging its operations with the graduate theological union (gtu). In 2015, ctns transferred $2,064,490 of its assets over to the gtu.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -857%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 171.9% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -150.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -97.6% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $194K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2014 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is recorded as not currently operating in California.