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Earthscope Consortium

EIN 52-1362650 · Washington, DC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair51 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

FACILITATING GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, PROMOTING FREE AND OPEN EXCHANGE OF GEOPHYSICAL DATA AND KNOWLEDGE, FOSTERING COOPERATION TO ADVANCE GEOPHYSICAL RESEACH AND CONVEYING ITS BENEFITS TO ALL OF HUMANITY.

Income
$45.4 million
Spending
$44.7 million
Spent on programs
87%
Reserves
0.8 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 97%
Employees
162
Volunteers
66
Highest pay
$379,681, chief executive officer

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

Fair: 51 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.8 months of spending.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 60% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    12 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 2% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 5% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    87% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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 46% of charities in its peer group (public safety and disaster relief, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    12 of 12 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (3)
  1. $25.6 million spent. INSTRUMENTATION SERVICES INCLUDE BOTH THE MAINTENANCE OF CONTINUOUS NETWORKS AND POOLS OF INSTRUMENTS FOR USE IN INDIVIDUAL EXPERIMENTS. THE GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPHIC NETWORK (GSN) IS A 152 STATION, GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED, STATE-OF-THE-ART DIGITAL SEISMIC NETWORK THAT PROVIDES FREE, REALTIME, OPEN ACCESS TO DATA. THE EARTHSCOPE PRIMARY INSTRUMENT CENTER SUPPORTS CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH INTO EARTH'S FUNDAMENTAL GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES. THE FACILITY PROVIDES INSTRUMENTATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD. THE NETWORK OF THE AMERICAS (NOTA) IS AN INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICS SENSOR NETWORK SPANNING MORE THAN 20 COUNTRIES AND COMPOSED OF MORE THAN 1,200 CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING INSTRUMENTS, INCLUDING HIGH-PRECISION AND MULTI-CONSTELLATION GNSS STATIONS AND BOREHOLE STRAIN, SEISMIC, AND TILT INSTRUMENTS. EARTHSCOPE POLAR SERVICES INSTALLS, MAINTAINS, AND OPERATES SEVERAL INSTRUMENTATION NETWORKS AND EXPERIMENTS IN ANTARCTICA, GREENLAND, AND THE ARCTIC.
  2. $10.4 million spent. DATA SERVICES INGESTS, CURATES AND DISTRIBUTES GEOPHYSICAL DATA TO THE GLOBAL EARTH SCIENCE COMMUNITY. THIS INCLUDES GROUND MOTION, ATMOSPHERIC, INFRASONIC, MAGNETOTELLURIC, STRAIN, HYDROLOGICAL AND HYDROACOUSTIC DATA. EARTHSCOPE PROMOTES RESEARCH BY PROVIDING ACCESS TO DATA THAT THE COMMUNITY OF GEODETIC SCIENTISTS USES FOR QUANTIFYING THE MOTIONS OF ROCK, ICE AND WATER THAT ARE MONITORED BY A VARIETY OF SENSOR TYPES AT OR NEAR THE EARTH'S SURFACE. EARTHSCOPE MAINTAINS AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING RESOURCES AND CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS. EARTHSCOPE DEVELOPS, CURATES, AND DISTRIBUTES SOFTWARE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
  3. $2.8 million spent. THE EARTHSCOPE ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM IS COMMITTED TO ADVANCING AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF SEISMOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS WHILE INSPIRING CAREERS IN THE EARTH SCIENCES. THE ENGAGEMENT GROUP PROVIDES EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND OUTREACH THROUGH A VARIETY OF RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES AND COLLABORATES WITH SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS TO PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF EARTH SCIENCE STUDENTS. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES STRENGTHEN PROFESSIONAL SKILLS THROUGH SHORT COURSES, ONLINE RESOURCES, NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOPS, AND MENTORING AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS.

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

  1. 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 September 7, 2026.

  2. 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.

  3. 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 September 10, 2026.

  4. 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 September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since December 1984.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. 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.

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