Project Ceti INC FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

New York, NY501(c)(3)Since 2020Science & TechnologyEIN 84-4630660

Project ceti (cetacean translation initiative) is a nonprofit organization that is applying advanced machine learning and non-invasive robotics to listen to and translate the communication of whales.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78

Before you give

FY2020 · 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
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.7M a year · 28% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
0%
of spending
Concern: 0% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Cash reserves
10894 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 10893.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $200K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.3M
16% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 16% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 3 voting members
Looks good: 3 of 3 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$6.8M
Spent
$6K
To programs
0%
Net assets
$6.8M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$6.8M
FY2020
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$6.8M
FY2021$8.0M
FY2022$8.1M
FY2023$6.2M
FY2024$6.0M
FY2025$1.8M
Expenses
$6K
FY2020
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$6K
FY2021$4.5M
FY2022$5.2M
FY2023$6.8M
FY2024$5.0M
FY2025$5.2M
Net assets
$6.8M
FY2020
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$6.8M
FY2021$10.3M
FY2022$13.1M
FY2023$12.6M
FY2024$13.6M
FY2025$10.3M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2020.

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

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Management & general 100% · $6K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

3 people listed on the 990.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Ed & President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

David Gruber’s $185K as CEO is at the 52nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 363 $1–10M 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
David Gruber$185,400$179,552$150,000$98,077
Fiona Korwin-Pawlowski$172,500$168,467$161,500—
Ashley Zafaranlou$136,294$117,223——

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

Listens to and translates whale communication using advanced technology.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Project Ceti INC claims this page.

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1 program service, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Project CETI was founded in 2020 and the organization's service accomplishments in 2020 included developing technology needed for the whale communication research and examining an initial data set from CETI's research location Dominica.

Pt IX · col B

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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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$200K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $1.5M · 2021–2021
MITMA · FY2021$835,000

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$6.8M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$6.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$134
Money outPt IX
$6K
Ln 25
Managementcol C$6K
Owns and owesPt X
$6.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$5.9M
Total assetsLn 16$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.3M
PeoplePt VI, VII
3
listed · VII A
PaidVII A0
Voting boardVI 1a3
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$6.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$134
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$6.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$451K
SavingsLn 2$5.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$5.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.3M
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.3M
Net assetsLn 32$6.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 54
VolunteersI 62
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
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 FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$5.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.3M
Total assetsLn 16$0$8.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$1.3M
Net assetsLn 32$0$6.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$0
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$0
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$25$25
Accounting feesLn 11c$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1K$1K
Office expensesLn 13$0
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$5K$5K
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$6K$0$6K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.8M$5.2M−$3.3M$10.3M 990 PDF
FY2024 $6.0M$5.0M$1.0M$13.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $6.2M$6.8M−$533K$12.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $8.1M$5.2M$2.8M$13.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $8.0M$4.5M$3.5M$10.3M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $6.8M$6K$6.8M$6.8M 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 FY2020 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,830,464 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$6,830,330
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$6,830,330
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $134$134
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueExcluded from tax $134$6,830,464
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,445 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staff$0
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxes$0
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $25$25
IX-11c Accounting fees$0
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for services$0
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $1,260$1,260
IX-13 Office expenses$0
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 Travel$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 Insurance$0
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Management $5,160$5,160
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $0 · Management $6,445 · Fundraising $0$6,445
Part X · Balance sheet $8,162,262 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearing$450,612
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$5,400,134
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$2,311,516
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $0$8,162,262
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$1,338,243
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$1,338,243
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictions$6,824,019
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $0$6,824,019
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $0$8,162,262
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $6,824,019 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$6,830,464
XI-2 Total expenses$6,445
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$6,824,019
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$6,824,019

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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