Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jan 2020.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
66 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
8 people listed on the 990; $530K paid to officers and key staff.
Brendan Fong’s $139K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 58th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Fong | $139,310 | $131,275 | $116,272 | $115,001 | — |
| David Spivak | $136,599 | $126,308 | $123,451 | $115,001 | $500 |
| Shaowei Lin | $131,781 | — | — | — | — |
| Evan Patterson | $122,542 | $124,359 | $111,734 | — | — |
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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Conducts scientific and educational research for public benefit.
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Our research focuses on collaborative modelling, collective intelligence, and technology research ethics. Primary themes from 2025 include polynomial functors, categorical systems theory, and collaborative modelling tools. This work is shared through research publications, talks, and blog articles.
Our education program focuses on producing freely available online materials for those learning category theory and related topics in advanced mathematics. We seek to advance broader perspectives in the mathematical community, and to share much of the cutting edge research as it happens.
Topos co-organises and supports participation in workshops and conferences pertaining to mathematics research, ai, technology and society, and other aspects of our mission. Activities in 2025 included support for participation in the adjoint school, applied category theory, and women in logic.
Funders
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 | $778K | $912K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.3M | $1.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $313K | $324K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $955K | $1.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $96K | $96K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $278K | $154K | $123K | $1K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $821K | $590K | $230K | $666 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $133K | $87K | $45K | $158 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $88K | $60K | $28K | $155 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $34K | $438 | $33K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $78K | $78K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $150K | $90K | $60K | $549 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $9K | $5K | $4K | $18 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $4K | $976 | $3K | $125 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $124K | $97K | $26K | $286 |
| TravelLn 17 | $62K | $62K | $172 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $397 | $5 | $87 | $305 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $34K | $19K | $15K | $5 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $7K | $603 | $7K | $10 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.9M | $1.3M | $656K | $4K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $1.8M | $1.9M | −$71K | $955K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.0M | $1.7M | $273K | $1.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.4M | $1.1M | $317K | $753K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $938K | $672K | $266K | $435K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $256K | $89K | $167K | $169K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,059,475 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 4 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,059,475 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,921,683 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,416,041 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,092,537 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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