Public Library of Science
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION.
- Income
- $41.3 million
- Spending
- $37.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 6.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 92%
- Employees
- 236
- Volunteers
- 13,500
- Highest pay
- $543,320, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 89 out of 100. Higher than 77% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.7 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 30% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 11% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 25% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 47% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 13 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 December 31, 2024, 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)
- $31.0 million spent. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE (PLOS) ADVANCES ITS CHARITABLE PURPOSE BY DRIVING OPEN SCIENCE FORWARD WITH MEASURABLE, MEANINGFUL CHANGE IN RESEARCH PUBLISHING, POLICY, AND PRACTICE. WE PUBLISH A PORTFOLIO OF PEER-REVIEWED, OPEN ACCESS SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS, REMOVING FINANCIAL, LEGAL, AND TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO ACCESSING RESEARCH BY ENSURING THAT ALL ARTICLES AND ASSOCIATED DATA ARE FREELY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT SUBSCRIPTION FEES. DURING THE TAX YEAR, PLOS PUBLISHED APPROXIMATELY 20,000 PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES FROM AUTHORS IN 163 COUNTRIES ACROSS 14 SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND PROVIDED $5.7 MILLION IN PARTIAL OR FULL ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC) WAIVERS TO AUTHORS. 4A. LARGEST PROGRAM SERVICE (BY EXPENSES):SCIENCE AND MEDICAL PUBLISHING ARE THE CORE OF OUR PROGRAM EXPENSE AT OVER $31MILLION. IN 2024 WE PUBLISHED MORE THAN 20,000 RESEARCH ARTICLES DOCUMENTING THE METHODS, OBSERVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES OF A DIVERSE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THOUSANDS OF RESEARCHERS ACROSS THE GLOBE DEDICATED THEIR TIME AS ACADEMIC EDITORS AND REVIEWERS TO BRINGING THIS WORK TO THE PUBLIC.THE ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN OUR PUBLISHING OPERATION INCLUDE:- EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION WORK - RECEIPT AND TRIAGE OF SUBMISSIONS; PERFORMING AND COORDINATING THEIR PEER REVIEW; AND PRODUCTION AND ONLINE PUBLICATION OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES. - MARKETING AND OUTREACH - PROMOTING ARTICLES AND INVITING SUBMISSIONS, INCREASING AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF OPEN SCIENCE BENEFITS AND PRACTICES, PROMOTING INITIATIVES SUCH AS CALLS FOR PAPERS, AND CREATING RESOURCES FOR AUTHORS AND REVIEWERS.- PUBLISHING ETHICS - HANDLING ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCERNS INVOLVING SUBMISSIONS AND PUBLISHED ARTICLES.- ENGAGEMENT WITH RESEARCH COMMUNITIES (E.G. BY ATTENDING AND/OR ORGANIZING CONFERENCES, EVENTS, AND WORKSHOPS) - TO ENSURE THE JOURNALS AND THEIR POLICIES REFLECT THE RESEARCH INTERESTS AND VALUES OF THESE FIELDS AND COMMUNITIES.- MEDIA - COLLABORATING WITH AUTHORS, INSTITUTIONS, SCIENCE MEDIA CENTERS AND JOURNALISTS TO COMMUNICATE RESEARCH TO BOTH SCIENTISTS AND SOCIETY. THE SCOPE OF PLOS JOURNALS PUBLISHING IN 2024 INCLUDES:- PLOS ONE IS A GLOBAL, INCLUSIVE JOURNAL PUBLISHING RESEARCH IN OVER TWO HUNDRED SUBJECT AREAS ACROSS SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, MEDICINE, AND THE RELATED SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES. - PLOS BIOLOGY IS A LEADING LIFE SCIENCE JOURNAL THAT CHAMPIONS HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINESFROM MOLECULES TO ECOSYSTEMS.- PLOS CLIMATE EMPOWERS GLOBAL, MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, AND ENABLES DECISION-MAKERS AT EVERY LEVEL OF SOCIETY TO TAKE URGENT, EVIDENCE-BASED ACTION ON THE CAUSES AND IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.- PLOS COMPLEX SYSTEMS IS A SELECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL FOCUSED ON RESEARCH THAT AIDS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD THROUGH A COMPLEXITY LENS, AND FOSTERS DISCUSSION WITHIN THE EMERGING COMPLEXITY COMMUNITY.- PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY IS HOME TO RESEARCH OF SIGNIFICANCE THAT SEEKS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE LIVING WORLD THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AND CUTTING-EDGE TOOLS.- PLOS DIGITAL HEALTH IS DEDICATED TO ADVANCING EQUITABLE AND DIGITALLY-ENABLED HEALTHCARE, INCREASING TRUST IN NEW TOOLS, AND IMPROVING REPRODUCIBILITY IN THE FIELD OF DIGITAL HEALTH RESEARCH. - PLOS GENETICS PUBLISHES RESEARCH RELATED TO GENETICS AND GENOMICS ACROSS THE FULL BREADTH OF THIS FIELD, FROM MICROBES TO HUMANS AND FROM BASIC SCIENCE TO TRANSLATIONAL APPROACHES.- PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH MAKES WORK OF THE HIGHEST METHODOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL RIGOR OPENLY AVAILABLE TO THE RESEARCHERS, POLICY EXPERTS, AND CLINICIANS WHO DEPEND ON IT TO TACKLE URGENT HEALTH CRISES AND ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY.- PLOS MEDICINE IS OUR LEADING HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL PUBLISHING IMPACTFUL RESEARCH THAT TRANSFORMS GLOBAL HEALTHCARE AND ADVANCES CLINICAL UNDERSTANDING.- PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES FOCUSES ON RESEARCH ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF NEGLECTED, FORGOTTEN, AND UNDER-RESOURCED POPULATIONS, WORKING WITH GLOBAL COMMUNITIES AND RESEARCHERS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF ALL.- PLOS PATHOGENS PUBLISHES GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH ON PATHOGEN BIOLOGY AND HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS ACROSS ALL LIFE FORMS.- PLOS SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION IS OUR LEADING SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE JOURNAL BRINGING TOGETHER ORIGINAL RESEARCH, ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF TRANSITIONING TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND JUST FUTURE.- PLOS WATER DRIVES CHANGE IN SAFE WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE, IMPROVING INSIGHTS INTO WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND IMPACTS ACROSS THE GLOBE.- PLOS MENTAL HEALTH IS DEDICATED TO CONNECTING SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE, STRIVING TO ENABLE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING, DISCUSSION, AND ACTION IN ADDRESSING CHALLENGES AND IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AROUND THE WORLD.IN ADDITION TO MANAGING THE ABOVE PORTFOLIO OF JOURNALS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO CATALYZING CHANGE IN SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION BY FOCUSING ON THREE INTERCONNECTED PILLARS: (1) OPEN SCIENCE PUBLISHING (2) OPEN SCIENCE POLICY AND (3) OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICE. THE FOLLOWING ARE KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR WORK IN 2024:- OPEN SCIENCE PUBLISHINGWE ARE WORKING TO REDEFINE PUBLISHING AND GO BEYOND THE ARTICLE TO FOSTER RESEARCH COMMUNICATION THAT IS SUSTAINABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND IMPACTFUL FOR ALL. THIS NEW INITIATIVE, SUPPORTED BY GORDON AND BETTY MOORE FOUNDATION AND ROBERT WOODS JOHNSON FOUNDATION, BUILDS UPON OUR LEGACY OF ADVANCING OPEN SCIENCE OUTPUTS AND REIMAGINING ALTERNATIVE MODELS FOR OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING. WE ALSO CONTINUED OUR PUBLICATION FEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, DESIGNED TO ENSURE RESEARCHERS WHO LACK FUNDS FOR OPEN ACCESS, CAN STILL MAKE THEIR WORK IMMEDIATELY AND FREELY AVAILABLE WHEN THEY PUBLISH IN OUR JOURNALS. IN 2024 PLOS PROVIDED $5.7 MILLION IN PARTIAL OR FULL ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC) WAIVERS TO AUTHORS. - OPEN SCIENCE POLICYWE REGULARLY ENGAGE IN POLICY DISCUSSIONS AS AN ADVOCATE FOR OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICE, A CHAMPION FOR RESEARCHERS, AND A TRUSTED LEADER IN RESEARCH INTEGRITY. IN 2024 WE INTRODUCED SEVERAL NEW POLICIES ACROSS OUR JOURNALS TO STRENGTHEN OUR GUARD
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 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? 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.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
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 March 2002.
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.