Silent Spring Institute Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE IS DEDICATED TO ADVANCING SCIENCE ON THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS ON WOMEN'S HEALTH, WITH A FOCUS ON BREAST CANCER PREVENTION.
- Income
- $5.8 million
- Spending
- $5.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 76%
- Reserves
- 9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 56%
- Employees
- 32
- Volunteers
- 15
- Highest pay
- $215,785, director of research
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 89 out of 100. Higher than 62% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.0 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 23% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 24% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1576% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 64% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 14 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $4.2 million spent. FOUNDED IN 1994, SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE IS AN INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO UNCOVERING THE LINKS BETWEEN CHEMICALS IN OUR EVERYDAY ENVIRONMENT AND WOMEN'S HEALTH, WITH A FOCUS ON BREAST CANCER PREVENTION. WITH NEARLY 200 PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES PUBLISHED TO DATE, WE PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAFER CHEMICALS, SAFER PRODUCTS, AND MORE HEALTH-PROTECTIVE POLICIES. WE HIGHLIGHT HERE SOME OF OUR KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE 2025 FISCAL YEAR. PROGRAM AREA 1 SAFER PRODUCTS: SILENT SPRING CONDUCTS RESEARCH TO EVALUATE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY AND DETERMINE WHETHER PRODUCT SAFETY POLICIES ADEQUATELY PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH. THIS YEAR: -WE ANALYZED INGREDIENT LISTS FROM MORE THAN 1,000 PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS USED BY 70 BLACK WOMEN AND LATINAS IN LOS ANGELES OVER THE COURSE OF ONE WEEK AS PART OF THE TAKING STOCK STUDY, A PARTNERSHIP WITH BLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AND UC SANTA BARBARA. OUR INITIAL FINDINGS, PUBLISHED IN MAY 2025 AND FEATURED IN THE WASHINGTON POST AND NPR, REVEALED THE WIDESPREAD USE OF CANCER-CAUSING FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMALDEHYDE-RELEASING PRESERVATIVES IN BEAUTY PRODUCTS MARKETED TO WOMEN OF COLOR. OVER HALF OF STUDY PARTICIPANTS USED PRODUCTS CONTAINING THESE CHEMICALS. FOLLOWING PUBLICATION, WE PROVIDED SCIENTIFIC TESTIMONY ON A WASHINGTON STATE BILL THAT WOULD RESTRICT FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMALDEHYDE RELEASERS IN COSMETICS. LOOKING FORWARD, WE WILL CONTINUE TO ANALYZE THIS RICH DATA SET ON PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT USE AMONG WOMEN OF COLOR TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARDS. -CALIFORNIA'S "PROP 65" LAW REQUIRES BUSINESSES TO WARN CONSUMERS IF A PRODUCT CONTAINS CHEMICALS KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER, BIRTH DEFECTS, OR REPRODUCTIVE HARM. IN OCTOBER 2024, SILENT SPRING PUBLISHED A STUDY DEMONSTRATING THAT LEVELS OF PROP 65 CHEMICALS IN PEOPLE'S BODIES DECREASED NOT ONLY IN CALIFORNIA BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY AFTER THE CHEMICALS WERE ADDED TO THE PROP 65 LIST. THIS PAPER WAS FEATURED BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES AND WAS HAILED AS ONE OF THE TOP FIVE GOOD NEWS STORIES OF 2024 BY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS. IN FEBRUARY 2025, WE PUBLISHED A COMPANION STUDY FOR WHICH WE INTERVIEWED BUSINESS LEADERS AT MAJOR GLOBAL MANUFACTURERS AND RETAILERS. IN THIS STUDY, WHICH WAS FEATURED BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE NEW YORK TIMES, 78% OF INTERVIEWEES SAID THAT PROP 65 HAS PROMPTED BUSINESSES TO REFORMULATE PRODUCTS AND 81% OF MANUFACTURERS SAID THEY LOOK TO PROP 65 TO KNOW WHICH CHEMICALS TO AVOID. CRITICS HAVE LONG LOBBIED AGAINST PROP 65 AS OVERLY BURDENSOME AND INEFFECTIVE, AND OUR FINDINGS CHALLENGE THIS NARRATIVE. PROGRAM AREA 2 SAFER CHEMICALS: THROUGH OUR SAFER CHEMICALS PROGRAM, SILENT SPRING IDENTIFIES CHEMICALS THAT INCREASE BREAST CANCER RISK AND CREATES A ROADMAP FOR REDUCING EXPOSURES TO CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS. THIS YEAR: -WE CONTINUED TO LEVERAGE OUR JANUARY 2024 LIST OF OVER 900 CHEMICALS LIKELY TO PROMOTE BREAST CANCER DEVELOPMENT. 90% OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE FOUND IN EVERYDAY PRODUCTS. THIS YEAR, THE FOOD PACKAGING FORUM USED OUR LIST TO UNCOVER NEARLY 200 BREAST CANCER RELEVANT CHEMICALS IN FOOD PACKAGING. THEIR FINDINGS WERE FEATURED BY CNN AND NEWSWEEK, AMONG OTHERS. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ARE NOW INCORPORATING OUR LIST INTO THEIR LANDMARK "SISTER STUDY," WHICH TRACKS ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR BREAST CANCER AMONG OVER 50,000 SISTERS OF WOMEN WHO HAVE HAD BREAST CANCER. -IN SEPTEMBER 2024, WE PUBLISHED A STUDY IDENTIFYING A DOZEN CHEMICALS THAT PUT FIREFIGHTERS AT INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING BREAST CANCER. FOLLOWING PUBLICATION, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCED CHANGES TO THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' COMPENSATION ACT TO INCLUDE BREAST CANCER AS AN OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS, ENTITLING FIREFIGHTERS TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION, MEDICAL LEAVE, AND MEDICAL EXPENSE COVERAGE. -IN JANUARY 2025, WE PUBLISHED A STUDY DEMONSTRATING THAT NEARLY A THIRD OF PEOPLE IN THE U.S.OVER 97 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS IN THEIR DRINKING WATER. HISPANIC AND BLACK RESIDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN OTHER GROUPS TO HAVE UNSAFE LEVELS OF CONTAMINANTS IN THEIR DRINKING WATER AND TO LIVE NEAR POLLUTION SOURCES. PROGRAM AREA 3 RIGHT TO KNOW, RIGHT TO ACT: SILENT SPRING IS A NATIONAL LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL TOOLS AND PROGRAMS THAT EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS TO LEARN ABOUT HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN THEIR EVERYDAY ENVIRONMENTS AND TAKE ACTION. THIS YEAR: -WE CONTINUED TO EVOLVE AND EXPAND OUR DIGITAL EXPOSURE REPORT-BACK INTERFACE (DERBI), AN INNOVATIVE TOOL FOR INFORMING STUDY PARTICIPANTS OF THEIR CHEMICAL EXPOSURES AND INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE. WE SENT OUT OUR LARGEST DERBI REPORT EVER IN FEBRUARY 2025, REACHING THE >3,000 PARTICIPANTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA'S AZ HEROES STUDY OF FIRST RESPONDERS AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS. -WE LAUNCHED A PROJECT FUNDED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO UPDATE OUR HEALTHY HOMES MOBILE APP, WHICH SUPPORTS RESIDENTS IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING HOME HEALTH HAZARDS. WE WILL TEST THE APP IN HOME VISIT PROGRAMS SUPPORTING FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN WHO ARE FACING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES SUCH AS ASTHMA. -IN JUNE 2025, WE LAUNCHED OUR FIRST ANNUAL SILENT SPRING SUMMER INSTITUTE, A WEEK-LONG ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. OVER 100 STUDENTS FROM THE U.S. AND BEYOND JOINED OUR INAUGURAL PROGRAM. THE YEAR IN REVIEW: -IN JULY 2024, WE WELCOMED DR. MARY BETH TERRY, AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGIST, AS OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. DR. TERRY COMES TO SILENT SPRING FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, WHERE SHE LEADS THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM AT COLUMBIA'S CANCER CENTER AND ALSO LEADS THE INTERNATIONAL BREAST CANCER FAMILY REGISTRY, WHICH TRACKS OVER 15,000 BREAST CANCER FAMILIES WORLDWIDE. -WE PUBLISHED 10 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS. SEVEN OF THESE ARTICLES RANKED IN THE TOP 1-2% OF ALL RESEARCH OUTPUTS SCORED BY ALTMETRICS, WHICH MEASURES THE ATTENTION RESE
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 1994.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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