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Two Frontiers Project Inc

EIN 99-2011215 · Fort Collins, CO

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceFair51 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE OF TWO FRONTIERS IS TO ADVANCE HUMANITY'S UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE'S ADAPTATION TO EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THE ORGANIZATION PLANS AND LEADS SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS TO REMOTE OCEANIC, TERRESTRIAL, AND OTHER HIGH-STRESS ENVIRONMENTS TO STUDY HOW MICROORGANISMS SURVIVE AND INFLUENCE NATURAL SYSTEMS.USING MODERN SEQUENCING AND MICROBIOLOGY TOOLS, TWO FRONTIERS COLLECTS, ANALYZES, AND SHARES DATA TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL RECOVERY AND CONTAMINATION MITIGATION. ITS OPEN-ACCESS DATABASES, SOFTWARE, AND PUBLICATIONS ARE FREELY AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. THE ORGANIZATION MAY ALSO FUND ACADEMIC OR NONPROFIT PARTNERS TO CONDUCT RELATED SCIENTIFIC STUDIES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.

Income
$538,377
Spending
$255,772
Spent on programs
91%
Reserves
12.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
1
Volunteers
4
Highest pay
$5,770, treasurer and director of operations

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

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 83% of charities in its peer group (science, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 12.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 52% of income.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    91% 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

Fair: 51 out of 100. Higher than 23% of charities in its peer group (science, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    5 of 25

    2 of 4 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no 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

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 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 (5)
  1. $114,094 spent. IN 2024, THE TWO FRONTIERS PROJECT ADVANCED ITS CARBON INITIATIVE, FOCUSED ON DISCOVERING AND CHARACTERIZING NOVEL MICROORGANISMS THAT NATURALLY CAPTURE AND RECYCLE CARBON. THE TEAM CONDUCTED FIELDWORK IN JAPAN AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA, ISOLATING AND ANALYZING CYANOBACTERIA SUCH AS THE NEWLY IDENTIFIED CHONKUS LINEAGE CAPABLE OF ENHANCED CARBON FIXATION IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS. THESE DISCOVERIES SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW LABORATORY AND DATA PLATFORM FOR ASSESSING MICROBIAL CARBON-CAPTURE POTENTIAL. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO LAUNCHED COMPLEMENTARY CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING "IN YOUR HOME AND "IN THE WILD", WHICH TRAINED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO COLLECT ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS. EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS ACCOMPANYING THESE PROGRAMS INTRODUCED PARTICIPANTS TO MICROBIOLOGY, CULTURING TECHNIQUES, AND THE ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS IN MITIGATING POLLUTION AND MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM BALANCE.
  2. $106,296 spent. THROUGH ITS CROPS INITIATIVE, THE TWO FRONTIERS PROJECT BEGAN BUILDING A RESEARCH PLATFORM TO IDENTIFY AND CULTURE MICROORGANISMS THAT ENHANCE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, WATER RETENTION, AND PLANT RESILIENCE UNDER DROUGHT AND NUTRIENT STRESS. IN 2024, THE ORGANIZATION CONDUCTED AN EXPEDITION TO THE MOJAVE DESERT TO STUDY NATURALLY STRESS-ADAPTED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH DESERT FLORA AND SOIL CRUSTS. THESE FINDINGS INFORMED THE DESIGN OF FUTURE EXPERIMENTS FOCUSED ON BIOLOGICAL SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE. CONCURRENTLY, 2FP EXPANDED ITS LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR MICROBIAL ISOLATION, CULTURE, AND FUNCTIONAL TESTING, LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR A SCALABLE DATABASE AND OPEN TOOLKIT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CROP-ASSOCIATED MICROBIOME RESEARCH.
  3. $7,183 spent. THE CORAL INITIATIVE FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN-SOURCE BIOINFORMATIC SOFTWARE AND WORKFLOWS FOR ANALYZING CORAL-ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES. THE ORGANIZATION ADVANCED TWO FLAGSHIP TOOLS MAGUS (HTTPS://GITHUB.COM/TWO-FRONTIERS-PROJECT/2FP_MAGUS, FOR METAGENOMIC ASSEMBLY AND BINNING) AND XTREE (HTTPS://GITHUB.COM/TWO-FRONTIERS-PROJECT/2FP-XTREE, FOR TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL ALIGNMENT)WHICH TOGETHER ENABLE HIGH-RESOLUTION PROFILING OF CORAL METAGENOMES. IN PARALLEL, 2FP ESTABLISHED STANDARDIZED LABORATORY PROTOCOLS FOR ISOLATING AND CULTURING BENEFICIAL MICROORGANISMS FROM CORAL ECOSYSTEMS. THESE EFFORTS FORM THE FOUNDATION FOR ONGOING RESEARCH INTO MICROBIAL PROCESSES THAT INFLUENCE CORAL HEALTH, RESILIENCE, AND POLLUTANT BREAKDOWN. ALL METHODS, CODE, AND REFERENCE DATA GENERATED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WERE MADE FREELY AVAILABLE TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING GLOBAL EFFORTS TO SAFEGUARD REEF ECOSYSTEMS AND COASTAL WATER QUALITY.
  4. $4,844 spent. BRAND
  5. $159 spent. COMPUTE INFRASTRUCTURE

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

  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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.

  4. 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.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since August 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 2026.

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