International Computer Science Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 32% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
TO CONDUCT PIONEERING RESEARCH IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, THE INTERNET AND NETWORKING, DATA SCIENCE, MACHINE LEARNING, AND ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS.
- Income
- $10.8 million
- Spending
- $7.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 32%
- Reserves
- 26.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 57%
- Employees
- 57
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $275,000, senior program executive
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: 85 out of 100.
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 26.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 29% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 194% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1532% 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.
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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)
- $2.4 million spent. FOUNDED IN 1988, THE INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER SCIENCE INSTITUTE (ICSI) IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PROFIT RESEARCH CENTER BASED IN BERKELEY, CA. WE ARE INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR OUR PIONEERING RESEARCH IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, THE INTERNET AND NETWORKING, DATA SCIENCE, MACHINE LEARNING, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. OUR INSTITUTE ALSO HAS A LONG-STANDING AFFILIATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY, INCLUDING THE BERKELEY INSTITUTE FOR DATA SCIENCE (BIDS). WE FOSTER A VIBRANT, INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS PROGRAM; RESEARCHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND AT ALL STAGES OF THEIR CAREER COME TO ICSI TO WORK WITH OUR ACM AWARD-WINNING SENIOR SCIENTISTS AND UC-BERKELEY FACULTY. OUR RESEARCH IS STRENGTHENED BY THE DIVERSITY OF OUR NETWORKS AND BY OUR DIFFERENCES IN EXPERTISE, GEOGRAPHIES, CULTURES, AND PERSPECTIVES. THE INSTITUTE IS FUNDED PRIMARILY THROUGH GRANTS, AND THUS OUR RESEARCH DEPENDS ON THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY OF OUR PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS WHO HAVE THE VISION, DRIVE, AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO BUILD INDEPENDENT, GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES. SINCE ICSI'S RESEARCH IA INVESTIGATOR-DRIVEN, AND OUR RESEARCHERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PURSUE QUESTIONS AND TOPICS THAT THEY FEEL ARE MOST IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. CURRENT AREAS OF FOCUS INCLUDE: INTERNET ARCHITECTURE, SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORKING, AND NETWORK SECURITY, EXTENSIBLE INTERNET (EI), NEXT GENERATION INTERNET (NGI), BIG DATA, SPOKEN AND TEXT-BASED NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, VISION, AUDIO, AND MULTIMEDIA, MACHINE LEARNING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, DATA SCIENCE CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE, CLOUD COMPUTING, AND USABLE PRIVACY AND SECURITY. APPLICATIONS OF OUR RESEARCH RANGE FROM TRANSLATIONAL DATA SCIENCE TO BIOINFORMATICS, INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT), VIDEO AND SPEECH PROCESSING, AND INTERNET ROUTING AND MEASUREMENT. OUR RESEARCHERS ALSO BUILD UPON THEIR EXPERIENCES AT ICSI TO CO-FUND COMPANIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES. WE ARE COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING OPEN SCIENCE, OPEN DATA, AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT; AND THUS, WE MAKE OUR RESEARCH FREE AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR FUNDERS, DONORS, AND POTENTIAL DONORS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND INTEREST IN OUR ORGANIZATION. PLEASE CALL 510-666-2900 OR EMAIL US AT INFO@ICSI.BERKELEY.EDU. 1. TO SCHEDULE YOUR PRIVATE TOUR OF OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY, ADJACENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA CAMPUS IN DOWNTOWN BERKELEY AND TO MEET OUR WORLD-CLASS SCIENTISTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR RESEARCH; 2. TO MEET WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR HR MANAGER TO TALK ABOUT SUPPORTING, BECOMING A PARTNER OF, OR PARTICIPATING IN OUR INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS.(HTTPS://WWW.ICSI/BERKELEY/EDU/ICSI/VISITORS); 3. TO MEET WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR SPONSORED PROJECTS MANAGER TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU MAY BECOME AN ICSI PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND PARTICIPATE IN THE BERKELEY AND SILICON VALLEY RESEARCH & INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM; 4. TO MEET WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO TALK ABOUT DONATION, PARTNERSHIP, OR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP OUR ORGANIZATION CONTINUE TO ADVANCE ORIGINAL COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TRANSLATIONAL DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH WITH A REAL-WORLD IMPACT. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE APPLICATIONS FROM PEOPLE OF COLOR, PEOPLE FROM WORKING CLASS BACKGROUNDS, FROM WOMEN AND LGBTQ+ PEOPLE, AND FROM THOSE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF OTHER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. ICSI PROVIDES EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL EMPLOYEES AND APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT OF ANY TYPE WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, AGE, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, DISABILITY STATUS, GENETICS, PROTECTED VETERAN STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERISTIC PROTECTED BY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS.
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 April 1987.
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.