Santa Fe Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE SANTA FE INSTITUTE IS A TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH COMMUNITY THAT EXPANDS THE BOUNDARIES OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING. ITS AIM IS TO DISCOVER, COMPREHEND, AND COMMUNICATE THE COMMON FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN COMPLEX PHYSICAL, COMPUTATIONAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS THAT UNDERLIE MANY OF THE MOST PROFOUND PROBLEMS FACING SCIENCE AND SOCIETY TODAY.
- Income
- $51.8 million
- Spending
- $17.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 63%
- Reserves
- 4.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 90%
- Employees
- 92
- Volunteers
- 30
- Highest pay
- $472,082, president
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: 78 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 67% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 461% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1563% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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 49% of charities in its peer group (science, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2526 of 26 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)
- $10.6 million spent. - SCIENCE PERSONNEL: IN 2024, SFI HAD TEN RESIDENT FACULTY, ADDED SEVEN NEW EXTERNAL PROFESSORS, HAD FIVE FRACTAL FACULTY MEMBERS, AND HOSTED 23 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS, INCLUDING FOUR WHO MOVED ON TO OTHER POSITIONS. IN TOTAL, AS OF THE END OF 2024, THERE WERE 184 FORMALLY AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS OF SFI, INCLUDING POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS, RESIDENT FACULTY, FRACTAL FACULTY, EXTERNAL FACULTY, EXTERNAL FACULTY FELLOWS, MEMBERS OF THE SCIENCE BOARD, AND SCIENCE BOARD FELLOWS. - SCIENCE VISITORS & SEMINARS: IN 2024, OUR SECOND FULL IN-PERSON YEAR SINCE 2019 (DUE TO THE PANDEMIC), SFI HOSTED 1125 IN-PERSON SCIENCE VISITORS/PARTICIPANTS AND 93 SEMINARS. OUR FLAGSHIP COLLOQUIUM SEMINAR SERIES FEATURED EIGHT SPEAKERS. IN ADDITION TO IN-PERSON ACTIVITY, DOZENS OF PEOPLE JOINED SEMINARS VIRTUALLY. THESE LEVELS ARE SIMILAR TO 2023 LEVELS OF IN-PERSON SCIENCE ACTIVITY AND A MAJOR INCREASE IN ACTIVITY OVER THE PANDEMIC YEARS OF 2020-2022. - SCIENCE MEETINGS: IN 2024, SFI HOSTED 50 IN-PERSON SCIENCE MEETINGS, SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THE 45 MEETINGS OF 2023. SIX OF THE MEETINGS WERE MAJOR WORKSHOPS OR SYMPOSIA. A FEW OF THE MEETINGS WERE HYBRID WITH DOZENS OF PARTICIPANTS JOINING REMOTELY. - SPONSORED RESEARCH: THE SPONSORED RESEARCH SERVICES OFFICE (SRSO) PROVIDES SUPPORT AND TRAINING TO SFI RESEARCHERS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES, DEVELOP PROPOSALS, OBTAIN FUNDS, AND ADMINISTER EXTERNAL GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. IN 2024, SFI RESEARCHERS APPLIED FOR 26 FEDERAL, FOUNDATION, AND INTERNATIONAL GRANTS AND WERE AWARDED 11, FOR A SUCCESS RATE OF 42% AND A TOTAL OF $2.3 MILLION DOLLARS OF NEW EXTERNAL FUNDING. AT THE END OF 2024, THERE WERE 27 ACTIVE AWARDS ($16.8 MILLION). SRSO CONTINUED TO MANAGE THE LOU SCHUYLER POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FUND IN 2024. THE FUND'S OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE INDEPENDENCE AND RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY AND TO ADVANCE THE FUTURE SCHOLARLY ENDEAVORS OF EARLY CAREER SFI SCHOLARS. IN 2024, THREE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS WERE GRANTED AWARDS TOTALING $32,380. - COMMUNITY LECTURE SERIES: SFI'S 2024 COMMUNITY LECTURE SERIES, HELD AT THE LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER IN DOWNTOWN SANTA FE, FEATURED SEVEN LECTURES AND ONE PANEL DISCUSSION. THE MCKINNON FAMILY FOUNDATION UNDERWROTE THE SERIES, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE SANTA FE REPORTER AND THE LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, SUCH THAT WE COULD CONTINUE TO HOST THESE EVENTS AT NO COST TO THE PUBLIC. THE EVENTS AVERAGED 700 IN-PERSON ATTENDEES, COMPARED TO 643 IN 2023. WE LIVE-STREAMED AND RECORDED THE LECTURES, RESULTING IN 383,000+ TOTAL VIEWS OF SFI CONTENT FROM 67 COUNTRIES. 2024 SANTA FE INSTITUTE EDUCATION ACTIVITIES: - THE UNDERGRADUATE COMPLEXITY RESEARCH PROGRAM OFFERED 9 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM SCHOOLS ACROSS AMERICA A 10-WEEK IMMERSIVE MENTORED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. - OUR HALLMARK EDUCATION PROGRAM, THE COMPLEX SYSTEMS SUMMER SCHOOL, OFFERED ADVANCED INSTRUCTION AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO 50 PHD STUDENTS, POSTDOCS, AND SCIENCE JOURNALISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. TWO DISTINCT 2-WEEK TOPICAL WORKSHOPS (1 SPONSORED BY AN NSF GRANT) PROVIDED TRAINING IN QUANTITATIVE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND COMPLEXITY RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY TO 38 PHD STUDENTS FROM THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD. - COMPLEXITYEXPLORER.ORG ONLINE EDUCATION PLATFORM PROVIDED ASYNCHRONOUS, ON-DEMAND, NO-COST COMPLEXITY SCIENCE COURSES TO 5,515 ACTIVE USERS. 2024 SANTA FE INSTITUTE ACTION (APPLIED COMPLEXITY NETWORK) ACTIVITIES: SFI CONVENED 10 APPLIED COMPLEXITY MEETINGS. EXCLUDING SPEAKERS, THERE WERE 572 TOTAL ATTENDANCES, INCLUDING 74 ATTENDANCES BY SFI-AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS, 56 ATTENDANCES BY UNAFFILIATED RESEARCHERS, 225 PRACTITIONER ATTENDANCES, AND 217 OTHERS. THIS CORRESPONDED TO 50 UNIQUE SFI-AFFILIATED RESEARCHER ATTENDEES, 58 UNIQUE UNAFFILIATED RESEARCHERS ATTENDEES, 149 UNIQUE PRACTITIONER ATTENDEES AND 184 OTHERS.
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 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 November 6, 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 December 2024.
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 1984.
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 November 4, 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.