Morgridge Institute for Research

Legal name: The Morgridge Institute for Research Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208325570
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, US
Phone
6083164100
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Hospitals and Related Primary Medical Care Facilities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$78,378,897
Expenses
$37,276,559
Assets
$81,240,978
Liabilities
$7,210,833

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRAD SCHWARTZ (CEO/TRUSTEE)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIK IVERSON (TRUSTEE): $1,032,701 total reported compensation
  • BRAD SCHWARTZ (CEO/TRUSTEE): $594,568 total reported compensation
  • RANDY BARTELS (DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES): $427,752 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 a biomedical research institute working toward a fundamental understanding of biology to drive the next advances in human health.

What it reported doing in 2024

Biomedical imaging: advancing technologies to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease- transient lighting for surgery: development of a rapid-switch lighting system that provides full light in the operating room, while protecting light-sensitive fluorescence images of use to surgeons.- better ct images: developing a multi-source x-ray tube for computed tomography (ct) - one of the most widely used tools to image disease - to enable faster imaging, dose reduction, and improved image quality.- improved breast cancer tracking: creating an imaging system to track breast cancer based on alignment of collagen fibers, which are biomarkers for breast cancer metastasis.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.3%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $72.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 24th 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: 52.4%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.18; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 33.3% of revenue deployed · 70% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $26.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $404K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.