Lieber Institute for Brain Development

Legal name: The Lieber Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263690883
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2008
Location
Baltimore, MD, US
Phone
3014502083
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Brain Disorders Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$33,169,343
Expenses
$35,235,311
Assets
$35,367,628
Liabilities
$12,425,757

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL R WEINBERGER (CEO & DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DANIEL R WEINBERGER (CEO & DIRECTOR): $791,111 total reported compensation
  • ELAINE JONES (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $468,968 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS MICHAEL HYDE (CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER): $454,629 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To accelerate discovery and development of treatments for mental illness and developmental disorders by advancing understanding of brain development and disease through innovative research and collaboration.

What it reported doing in 2024

Basic sciences: the creation of model systems at the institute to study psychiatric illness is the major goal of the basic sciences research program. Using our unique collection of human brain material and induced pluripotent stem cell lines, we are defining the molecular signature of disease risk. To provide the basis for therapeutic intervention we are developing new technologies using human stem cells to identify the functional consequences of genetic risk factors. The goal of these studies is the identification of therapeutic targets based on the mechanisms of disease.

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 94% 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

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.2%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 14 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.3% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $29.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $791K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $236K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.