The Two Frontiers Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 992011215
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7816262626
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $538,377
- Expenses
- $255,772
- Assets
- $285,745
- Liabilities
- $3,390
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BRADEN TIERNEY (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KRISTA RYON (TREASURER AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $5,770 total reported compensation
- BRADEN TIERNEY (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $1,510 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The principal purpose of two frontiers is to advance humanity's understanding of life's adaptation to extreme environments through scientific research and education. The organization plans and leads scientific expeditions to remote oceanic, terrestrial, and other high-stress environments to study how microorganisms survive and influence natural systems.using modern sequencing and microbiology tools, two frontiers collects, analyzes, and shares data to support environmental recovery and contamination mitigation. Its open-access databases, software, and publications are freely available to researchers for non-commercial purposes. The organization may also fund academic or nonprofit partners to conduct related scientific studies that contribute to public knowledge.
What it reported doing in 2024
The coral initiative focused on the development of open-source bioinformatic software and workflows for analyzing coral-associated microbial communities. The organization advanced two flagship tools magus (https://github.com/two-frontiers-project/2fp_magus, for metagenomic assembly and binning) and xtree (https://github.com/two-frontiers-project/2fp-xtree, for taxonomic and functional alignment)which together enable high-resolution profiling of coral metagenomes. In parallel, 2fp established standardized laboratory protocols for isolating and culturing beneficial microorganisms from coral ecosystems. These efforts form the foundation for ongoing research into microbial processes that influence coral health, resilience, and pollutant breakdown. All methods, code, and reference data generated through this program were made freely available to the scientific community, supporting global efforts to safeguard reef ecosystems and coastal water quality.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 43
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 43.2%; rating input score 43
- Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $331.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 52.5%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 43.2% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $233K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $6K · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.