Cave Research Foundation INC

Tax-deductible

Cave City, KY501(c)(3)Since 1957Science & TechnologyEIN 31-6052842Revenue $290K in FY2025

On file with the IRScave-research.org180 Hamilton Valley Rd, 42127-8607 · Cave City, KYTax-exempt since Nov 1947Publicly supported — 509(a)(2)

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Facilitate and support research, management, and interpretation of caves and karst resources in the United States and overseas; Promote the long-term conservation of caves and karst ecosystems; Explore, survey, and document all aspects of the underground environment; Assist government agencies and private landowners with management and protection of caves on their land; Educate the public about the importance of caves and karst ecosystems for conservation and water supplies.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
95¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 780 volunteers.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $43K a year · 19% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
95%
of spending
Looks good: 95% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$3K
to officers and key staff · 2% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 98% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 2% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
50 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 49.9 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $572
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 11 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$290K
-0.5% vs prior year
Spent
$151K
To programs
95%
Net assets
$1.7M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$290K
FY2025▼ -0.5%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$213K
FY2021$224K
FY2022$117K
FY2023$242K
FY2024$291K
FY2025$290K
Expenses
$151K
FY2025▼ -23%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$212K
FY2021$157K
FY2022$202K
FY2023$196K
FY2024$197K
FY2025$151K
Net assets
$1.7M
FY2025▲ +11%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.4M
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$1.6M
FY2025$1.7M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending September 2025) · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1947.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 95% · $143K Management & general 5% · $8K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

11 people listed on the 990; $3K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$2,562Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary & Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer & Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kayla N Sapkota’s $3K as President is at the 2nd 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024
Kayla N Sapkota$2,562$2,333

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.

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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

Conserves caves and karst ecosystems through research, management, and exploration.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $143K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Cave and Karst Research, Management, and Cartography

The primary focus of the Foundation is assisting government land managers who are responsible for cave and karst areas. Support includes inventorying caves and karst features, developing management plans to protect these unique resources, constructing protective gates on sensitive caves, performing biological and other inventories in the…

$122Kprogram expense
02

Graduate Research Grants

The Foundation awards a variable number of graduate-level research grants each year to support thesis research in fields related to cave and karst studies. The grants are awarded solely on the merits of the grant requests.

$15Kprogram expense
03

Publication and Distribution of Cave-Related Books and Maps

The Foundation publishes and distributes a variety of cave-related technical, scientific, and popular books and maps related to the science, history, exploration, and management of caves and karst landforms. Most of the books are sold through the visitor centers in national parks that contain caves.

$6Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$572
Grants paid · 13 grants · $50K · 2019–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$12,480
Unitemized GrantFY2022$13,600
Unitemized GrantFY2021$2,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$1,500
Unitemized GrantFY2021$1,500
Unitemized GrantFY2021$1,500
Unitemized GrantFY2021$1,500
Unitemized GrantFY2020$3,000
Unitemized GrantFY2020$2,750
Unitemized GrantFY2020$1,300
Unitemized GrantFY2019$3,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$3,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$3,000

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$290K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$170K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$71K
Investment incomeLn 3$49K
Money outPt IX
$151K
Ln 25
Programscol B$143K
Managementcol C$8K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.7M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$630K
Total assetsLn 16$1.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
11
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a11
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$71K
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Fees for servicesLn 2g$170K
Investment incomeLn 3$49K
Total revenueLn 12$290K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$38K
SavingsLn 2$592K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$630K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$711K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$390K
Total assetsLn 16$1.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$1.7M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 6780
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$490K$630K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$658K$711K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$416K$390K
Total assetsLn 16$1.6M$1.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$0
Net assetsLn 32$1.6M$1.7M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$13K$13K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$2K$2K
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$0$0$0$0
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0$0$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0$0$0$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0$0$0$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0$0$0$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$0$0$0$0
Management feesLn 11a$0$0$0$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0$0$0$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$0$0$0$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0$0$0$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$4K$0$4K$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$0$0$0$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0$0$0$0
Office expensesLn 13$0$0$0$0
Information technologyLn 14$0$0$0$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0$0$0$0
OccupancyLn 16$32K$32K$0$0
TravelLn 17$0$0$0$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0$0$0$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0$0$0$0
InterestLn 20$0$0$0$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0$0$0$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$26K$26K$0$0
InsuranceLn 23$3K$0$3K$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$72K$71K$1K$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$151K$143K$8K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $290K$151K$138K$1.7M 990 PDF
FY2024 $291K$197K$94K$1.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $242K$196K$46K$1.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $117K$202K−$85K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 $224K$157K$67K$1.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $213K$212K$860$1.4M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $289,593 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $47,163$71,130
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $134,614$169,820
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $109,276$48,643
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $291,053$289,593
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $12,480$15,000
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $0$0
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $184,740$136,368
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $197,220$151,368
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $93,833$138,225
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body11
VI-1b Independent voting members11
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $289,593 across 12 lines filed
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$71,130
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$71,130
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $169,820 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$169,820
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $48,643 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$48,643
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $218,463 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$289,593
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $151,368 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $0$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $12,900$12,900
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $2,100$2,100
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $0$0
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $0 · Management $3,993 · Fundraising $0$3,993
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $31,539 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$31,539
IX-17 TravelPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officialsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-20 InterestPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliatesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $26,057 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$26,057
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $0 · Management $2,661 · Fundraising $0$2,661
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $70,816 · Management $1,302 · Fundraising $0$72,118
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $143,412 · Management $7,956 · Fundraising $0$151,368
Part X · Balance sheet $1,730,355 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $34,215$37,604
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $455,524$591,989
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $415,739$389,682
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $658,439$711,080
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,563,917$1,730,355
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,563,917$1,730,355
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $0$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,563,917$1,730,355
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,563,917$1,730,355
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,730,355 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$289,593
XI-2 Total expenses$151,368
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$138,225
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,563,917
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$28,213
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,730,355

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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