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Empire Discovery Institute

Rochester, NY · EIN 82-3993697 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2024 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Empire Discovery Institute reported $13.2 million in revenue and $5.1 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $73.89 went to program services, $26.11 to management and general costs and $0.00 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 85.5% of the total. Government grants made up 85.5%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $406,940 (CEO). 3 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 561% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $5.1M

Program services$73.89 $3.8M
Management & general$26.11 $1.3M
Fundraising$0.00 $0

For context, the median across 371 covered environment charities: $85.82 programs, $10.80 management, $3.38 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $13M

Government grants$85.52 $11M
Program service revenue$12.79 $1.7M
Investment income$1.69 $224K

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2024 filing. Median across 371 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2024	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	73.9%	83.6%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	26.1%	10.5%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.0%	3.3%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.00	$0.03
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	85.5%	87.6%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	85.5%	4.8%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	12.8%	3.2%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$406,940	$293,532
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	7.96%	1.74%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	3	7
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	27.4	18.8
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	9 of 9	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$3.8M expenses · 100.0% of program spending · revenue $1.7M

Identify medically important pathways and targets related to human disease that will serve as the basis for the discovery and development of novel, highly differentiated therapeutics to address critical, unmet needs for patients

Highest reported compensation

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
CEO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week	$383,940	$0	$23,000	$406,940
COO (TO 10/31/25) Officer, 40.00 hrs/week	$203,589	$0	$23,000	$226,589
DIR OF PORTFOLIO DEVEL & ADMINISTRATION Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$151,784	$0	$3,900	$155,684

3 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Empire Discovery Institute (Part VII, line 2).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2024 ⓘ	$13M	$5.1M	73.9%	$12M	$406,940
2023 ⓘ	$235K	$5.4M	75.3%	$3.1M	$443,876
2022 ⓘ	$8.3M	$2.9M	71.2%	$7.6M	$408,628
2021 ⓘ	$41,665	$2.8M	64.4%	$1.9M	$452,404
2020 ⓘ	$4.5M	$1.5M	52.8%	$4.2M	$423,617
2019 ⓘ	$2.0M	$1.0M	39.8%	$1.0M	$296,353

Governance answers, as filed

2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b9 · 9 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aNo
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
Employees Part I, line 50
Volunteers Part I, line 612

Largest outside contractors

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

CURIA GLOBAL INC Scientific research	$784,039
LARK PHARMA CONSULTING Scientific research	$135,945
CHARLES RIVER DISCOVERY RESEARCH SERVICE Contract research organization/ scientif	$126,204
BIOEXCEL LLC Scientific research	$118,125

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 6 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Empire Discovery Institute's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Empire Discovery Institute, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Empire Discovery Institute How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

The Ocean Foundation
Washington, DC · revenue $13M · programs 89.5% · FY2025
Islandwood
Bainbridge Island, WA · revenue $13M · programs 76.5% · FY2025
Nova Scotia Nature Trust
Canada, · revenue $13M · programs 95.3% · FY2025
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Concord, NH · revenue $13M · programs 76.9% · FY2025
Japanese Garden Society of Oregon
Portland, OR · revenue $13M · programs 77.0% · 2024

All environment charities · Largest charities in New York

Questions people ask

How much of Empire Discovery Institute's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2024, Empire Discovery Institute reported that 73.9% of its $5.1 million in expenses went to program services, 26.1% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Empire Discovery Institute pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Empire Discovery Institute reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $406,940, for the role of CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Empire Discovery Institute get its money?

Of $13.2 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 85.5% came from contributions and grants (including 85.5% from government grants) and 12.8% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Empire Discovery Institute a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 82-3993697 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202533219349303388 · read the filing · XML
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202443209349302729 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202312939349301211 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202201969349302310 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202142869349301949 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202033219349317208 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 82-3993697: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.