Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jan 2011.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
96 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
9 people listed on the 990; $265K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Morgan Sandercock’s $118K as Project Manager is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 312 $100K–1M science & technology nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Sandercock | $117,764 | $108,875 | $101,225 | $37,413 |
| Tim Gardner | $42,144 | $95,600 | $60,600 | $31,875 |
| Jim Payne | $56,377 | $75,615 | $66,837 | $34,256 |
| Edward Warnock | $43,565 | $27,063 | $34,969 | $15,125 |
| Jacqueline Payne | $5,156 | $11,781 | $14,768 | $4,025 |
| Miguel Iturmendi | — | — | — | $5,000 |
| Preston Michie | — | — | — | $4,663 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See The Perlan Project INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Study giant stratospheric mountain waves impacting Earth's weather by reaching the edge of space.
Questions for The Perlan Project INC
Your first name shows with your question. The Perlan Project INC answers here, for everyone.
Make upgrades to the perlan 2 pressurized research glider in preparation for conducting further studies of the stratospheric mountain wave generated by the polar vortex over the southern andes.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 27-2151721) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $473K | $456K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $330K | $210K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $803K | $666K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $803K | $666K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $265K | $265K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1K | $1K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $7K | $7K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $440 | $440 | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $4K | $4K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $138 | $138 | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $594 | $360 | $234 | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $120K | $120K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $987 | $987 | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $294K | $285K | $9K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $56 | $56 | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $701K | $671K | $30K | $440 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 | $564K | $701K | −$138K | $666K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2024 | $603K | $1.3M | −$686K | $803K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2023 | $860K | $650K | $211K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 | $1.3M | $1.1M | $248K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2021 | $521K | $1.1M | −$593K | $1.0M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990
Part I · Summary $563,879 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 4 of 9 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $563,879 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $701,427 across 13 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $665,840 assets, 8 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $665,840 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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