UL Research Institutes

Legal name: Underwriters Laboratories Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
361892375
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Evanston, IL, USA
Phone
2247140919
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Consumer Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$46,451,010
Expenses
$110,181,419
Assets
$1,137,679,070
Liabilities
$21,564,123

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • T BRADY (FMR President & CEO)
  • S KERBER (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - FSRI)
  • J CRISMAN (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DSRI)
  • S MILLER (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - MDRI)
  • J JEEVARAJAN (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ESRI)

Highest reported compensation

  • R ROBINSON (EVP & CFO - UL SOLUTIONS): $5,600,065 total reported compensation
  • T BRADY (FMR President & CEO): $3,788,478 total reported compensation
  • J MCLAUGHLIN (FMR EVP & CLO -UL SOLUTIONS): $2,018,300 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

UL Research Institutes is a leading independent safety science organization with global reach. We sense and act on risks to public safety with bold hypotheses and objective investigations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Underwriters laboratories inc. Performs research & investigation to advance safety science. Additionally, the organization engages in public advocacy and provides education to the public to enhance safety awareness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 62.3%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -137.2%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.33; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -28.9% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 62.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $68.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5.6M · 35 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $14.4M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 70 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 59 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.