The Nobel Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237328457
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Stockholm, SW
Phone
4686630920
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$66,592,673
Expenses
$21,586,897
Assets
$507,942,373
Liabilities
$9,971,010

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HANNA STJARNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HANNA STJARNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $287,504 total reported compensation
  • ULRIKA BERGMAN (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $271,618 total reported compensation
  • ASTRID SODERBERGH WIDDING (CHAIRMAN): $9,003 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Managing the assets made available through alfred nobel's will for awarding the nobel prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.

What it reported doing in 2025

The nobel foundation was formed in 1900 to finance nobel prizes and expenses related to prize awards efforts. The total number of nobel prizes since 1901 is 1026.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.7%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 67.6%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 23.53; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.7% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $17.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $288K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.