Universal Stylus Initiative Inc
Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.
What it says it does
UNIVERSAL STYLUS INITIATIVE (USI) DEFINES INDUSTRY-WIDE STANDARDS FOR INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN AN ACTIVE STYLUS AND TOUCH-ENABLED DEVICES SUCH AS PHONES, TABLETS, AND COMPUTING AND ENTERTAINMENT PLATFORMS.
- Income
- $201,667
- Spending
- $486,418
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 7
- Highest pay
- $121,500, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Governance
This return does not answer enough of the governance questions to score.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. 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)
- MEMBERSHIP: USI IS A MEMBER DRIVEN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. LEADING OEMS, STYLUS AND TOUCH CONTROLLER MANUFACTURERS PARTICIPATE TO DRIVE INDUSTRY STANDARDS TO PROMOTE INTEROPERABLE ACTIVE STYLUSES WITH TOUCH-ENABLED DEVICES SUCH AS PHONES, TABLETS, AND COMPUTING AND ENTERTAINMENT PLATFORMS. THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS RANGES FROM 35-45.USI 1.0 STYLUS AND DEVICE SPECIFICATION: RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER 2016, THE USI 1.0 SPECIFICATION PROVIDES INDEPENDENT HARDWARE VENDORS (IHVS) AND ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS (OEMS) FOR THE FIRST TIME AN INDUSTRY STANDARD, NON-PROPRIETARY, ACTIVE STYLUS PROTOCOL. THIS SOLUTION WILL ENABLE THE OEM, IHV AND SOFTWARE ECOSYSTEM TO DEVELOP A NEW GENERATION OF ACTIVE STYLUSES THAT PROVIDE CONSUMERS A CONSISTENT, CUSTOMIZABLE AND INTEROPERABLE EXPERIENCE ACROSS MAKE, MODEL AND FORM-FACTOR. THE USI 1.0 SPECIFICATION ALSO ENABLES NEW USAGES FOR ACTIVE STYLUSES, SUCH AS MULTIPLE STYLUSES OPERATING SIMULTANEOUSLY ON A SINGLE DEVICE. THE USI SPECIFICATION CAN BE IMPLEMENTED ON A WIDE RANGE OF TOUCH-ENABLED DEVICES, INCLUDING PHONES, TABLETS, COMPUTING AND ENTERTAINMENT PLATFORMS.THE USI 1.0 SPECIFICATION DEFINES A STANDARD SIGNALING MECHANISM AND COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL BETWEEN A STYLUS AND A TOUCH-ENABLED DEVICE. THE 1.0 SPECIFICATION FEATURES A ROBUST TWO-WAY PROTOCOL DESIGNED FROM THE GROUND UP TO SUPPORT A RICH SET OF BASE FEATURES INCLUDING MULTIPLE, SIMULTANEOUS STYLUSES AS WELL AS EXTENSIBILITY FOR PER-VENDOR CUSTOMIZATION AND FUTURE USAGES.USERS WILL BE ABLE TO USE A SINGLE USI STYLUS ACROSS ALL OF THEIR USI-ENABLED DEVICES AND ANY USI STYLUS SHIPPED WITH DEVICES WILL WORK WITH OTHER USI-ENABLED DEVICES, EVEN THOSE FROM DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS. ADDITIONALLY, THE USI 1.0 SPECIFICATION ALSO PROVIDES THE CAPABILITY TO USE MULTIPLE STYLUSES FROM DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS ON A SINGLE DEVICE. THIS IS A BREAKTHROUGH CAPABILITY AND INDUSTRY-FIRST ENABLED BY THE USI 1.0 SPECIFICATION.AN ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF THE USI STANDARD IS THE ABILITY TO DELIVER A CONSISTENT STYLUS USER EXPERIENCE ACROSS PLATFORMS. THIS CONSISTENCY AND EASE-OF-USE, COUPLED WITH INTEROPERABILITY, INCREASES THE CONSUMER APPEAL OF AN ACTIVE STYLUS AND WILL HELP PROLIFERATE THE TECHNOLOGY.USI HAS ISSUED AN ERRATA IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SPECIFICATION TO AMEND, EDIT AND DEFINE THE SPECIFICATION DETAILS. USI CERTIFICATION: THE USI CERTIFICATION PROGRAM ALLOWS MEMBERS TO MEASURE COMPLIANCE AND ENSURE INTEROPERABILITY WITH THE USI STYLUS AND DEVICE SPECIFICATION. COMPANIES COMPLETING CERTIFICATION MAY DISPLAY THE USI CERTIFIED LOGO TO DEMONSTRATE TO CONSUMERS, CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS THAT THEY HAVE CREATED A HIGH QUALITY, INTEROPERABLE USI IMPLEMENTATION THAT IS KNOWN TO WORK WITH OTHER USI IMPLEMENTATIONS.THE USI STYLUS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S CORE VALUE PROPOSITION AND BRAND PROMISE IN MIND.USI BRAND PROMISEA PRODUCT BEARING THE USI CERTIFICATION MARK WILL PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCE THAT'S PERSONAL, PREDICTABLE AND INTEROPERABLE.PERSONAL - "MY USI STYLUS CUSTOMIZABLE IN A VARIETY OF WAYS."THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS IN MULTIPLE FORM-FACTORS OR INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS AND/OR THE ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE AND CONFIGURE PARAMETERS SUCH AS INK COLOR, STROKE, ETC. ON A PER-STYLUS BASIS.PREDICTABLE - "I KNOW I CAN EXCEPT THE SAME EXPERIENCE FROM MY USI STYLUS EVERY TIME AND EVERYWHERE I USE IT."THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS ACROSS ALL USI CERTIFIED PRODUCTS.INTEROPERABLE - "I KNOW MY USI STYLUS IS GOING TO WORK ON ALL OF MY DEVICES."THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH CONSISTENT ELECTRICAL PROFILE REQUIREMENTS ACROSS ALL USI CERTIFIED PRODUCTS.TO ENSURE THAT PRODUCTS UPHOLD THIS BRAND PROMISE AND THE OVERALL INTEGRITY OF THE USI BRAND, THE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM ENABLES MEASUREMENT OF ADHERENCE TO THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION IN REAL PRODUCTS AND PROVIDES REASONABLE MEASURES OF ACCEPTABILITY.PRODUCTS THAT PASS THIS LEVEL OF ACCEPTABILITY ARE ADDED TO THE CERTIFICATION REGISTER AND HAVE THE RIGHT TO LICENSE THE USI CERTIFICATION MARK.THE USI CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IS A HIGH-LEVEL, FUNCTIONAL TEST OF A PRODUCT'S PERFORMANCE AND INTEROPERABILITY FROM AN END-USER PERSPECTIVE. THE TESTS ARE DESIGNED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF REAL-WORLD USE OF A USI PRODUCT.THE USI CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR THOROUGH COMPONENT OR PRODUCT VALIDATION BY THE MANUFACTURER; IT DOES NOT FULLY EXERCISE THE ENTIRE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION, NOR DOES IT PROVIDE 'BIT-BY-BIT' TESTING OF EACH REGISTER, FUNCTION, COMMAND, FREQUENCY/TIMESLOT COMBINATION, CORNER-CASE SCENARIO, ETC. FURTHERMORE, IT DOES NOT TEST ANY PROPRIETARY, VENDOR-DEFINED EXTENSIONS.THE UNIVERSAL STYLUS INITIATIVE FINALIZED VERSION 2.0 OF THE USI STYLUS AND DEVICE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 2.0 ON NOVEMBER 30, 2021. VERSION 2.0 OF THE USI SPECIFICATION BUILDS UPON THE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED IN VERSION 1.0, EXPANDING IT TO ENABLE SUPPORT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF COMPONENT TECHNOLOGIES, SYSTEM INTEGRATION METHODOLOGIES AND END-USER REQUIREMENTS. THE SPECIFICATION IS THE ONLY OPEN STANDARD ACTIVE STYLUS SOLUTION THAT ALLOWS A SINGLE STYLUS TO BE USED ON MULTIPLE TOUCH ENABLED DEVICES. IT IS USED IN MILLIONS OF PRODUCTS AND STANDARD FOR GOOGLE CHROMEBOOKS.PRESS RELEASE: GOOGLE AND AMAZON RELEASE TABLETS SUPPORTING USI 2.0 STYLUS.USI HAD 16 PRODUCTS CERTIFIED IN 2023 AS BEING COMPLIANT WITH THE USI STYLUS AND DEVICE SPECIFICATION.PRIMARY FOCUS IN 2023 WAS ON MARKETING AND GROWING MEMBER AND NEW MEMBER ENGAGEMENT.REGISTRATION OF NEW LOGO WITH USPTO
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. 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)(6) business league.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.
The IRS master file records contributions to this 501(c)(6) business league as not deductible.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2017.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.