The Hastings Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132662222
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Garrison, NY, USA
Phone
8454244040
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,965,138
Expenses
$4,562,859
Assets
$13,761,482
Liabilities
$307,812

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • VARDIT RAVITSKY (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • VARDIT RAVITSKY (PRESIDENT & CEO): $399,753 total reported compensation
  • CATHERINE MEISTERICH (COO/CFO): $284,759 total reported compensation
  • RYAN SAUDER (CHIEF STRATEGY & ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $252,559 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

The hastings center's programs for students and visiting scholars offer a range of remote, hybrid, and in-person opportunities for learning, discussion, and career development for students and professionals, with a focus on creating opportunities and sharing knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of bioethics. In 2024, the hastings center produced its third annual summer bioethics program, a weeklong online learning opportunity for undergraduates interested in bioethics issues and careers. Admission to this program is by application. In 2023, the hastings center's fourth cohort of sadler scholars was selected and began a one-year period of focused work with the program director and advisors. The sadler scholars is a professional development program for advanced doctoral students in bioethics research. Admission to this remote program is by application. Also in 2024, the hastings center continued its series of invited monthly work-in-progress discussions by early-career and mid-career scholars. Additionally, in 2024 the hastings center launched our new approach to our residential visiting scholar program, which now focuses on writing residencies for early-career and mid-career scholars. Finally, in 2024 we resumed our visiting scholar exchange with the centre for biomedical ethics at the chinese university of hong kong.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 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: 8.1%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.02; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $400K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.