The Welch Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853543248
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7133480000
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Chemistry, Chemical Engineering

Reported finances

Revenue
$0
Expenses
$0
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gina Luna (Executive Director, Treasurer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Reginald Desroches (Director): $1,655,827 total reported compensation
  • Amy Dittmar (Director): $902,944 total reported compensation
  • Kelly Fox (Assistant Treasurer): $835,021 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Institute is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code"), and is organized and shall be operated exclusively for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, or to carry out the purposes of Rice University and its affiliated organizations that are exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Code, and classified as other than a private foundation under the Code. In accomplishment of such purposes, The Institute will: seek to advance the science and learning concerning, and development of, advanced materials; seek to solve fundamental challenges in the field of advanced materials; seek to accelerate the application of new knowledge concerning advanced materials to global challenges; and seek to provide educational opportunities for students and scientists to broaden their understanding of the field of chemistry generally and advanced materials in particular.

What it reported doing in 2023

The Institute is designed to leverage and integrate the knowledge, expertise and resources of Rice University and Welch Foundation in the discipline of chemistry and chemistry-related endeavors to establish a world-leading advanced materials research organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
No positive adjusted resources. The filing reports no positive adjusted operating resources.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: NotEnoughData
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: Limited
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -50.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Series filing activity did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.