Nonprofit · EIN 82-3945232
OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC
Tax-exempt · SAN DIEGO, CA 92130
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 990 | $11,291 | $11,507 | -$216 | $524,061 | $0 | $524,061 |
| December 31, 2024 | 990 | $17,182 | $18,780 | -$1,598 | $524,277 | $0 | $524,277 |
| December 31, 2023 | 990 | $41,627 | $55,638 | -$14,011 | $525,875 | $0 | $525,875 |
| December 31, 2022 | 990 (amended) | $997 | $142,268 | -$141,271 | $539,886 | $0 | $539,886 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $2,353
- Program service revenue
- $0
- Investment income
- $8,938
- Other revenue
- $0
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $0
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $0
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Accounting fees
- $1,284
- Travel
- $580
- Program services (functional)
- $8,662
- Management and general (functional)
- $2,845
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $524,277
- Total assets, end of year
- $524,061
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $0
- Net assets, end of year
- $524,061
- Land, buildings and equipment
- $79,719
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $524,061
- Gross receipts
- $11,291
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 2,000
- Year formed
- 2019
- State of legal domicile
- CA
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Wheeler | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 5 | $0 |
| Anshul Makkar | Director Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
| Michelle Thompson | CEO Trustee or director, Officer | 30 | $0 |
| Steve Conklin | CFO Trustee or director, Officer | 10 | $0 |
| Matthew Wishek | Director Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2024: 5 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Brickle | Director Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
| Anshul Makkar | Director Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
| Michelle Thompson | CEO Officer | 30 | $0 |
| Steve Conklin | CFO Officer | 10 | $0 |
| Keith Wheeler | Secretary Officer | 5 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 5 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Brickle | Director Trustee or director | 5 | $0 |
| Anshul Makkar | Director Trustee or director | 5 | $0 |
| Michelle Thompson | CEO Officer | 20 | $0 |
| Steve Conklin | CFO Officer | 5 | $0 |
| Keith Wheeler | Secretary Officer | 5 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2022: 5 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| keith wheeler | Director Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
| anshul makkar | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Michelle Thompson | CEO Officer | 20 | $0 |
| Karen Rucker | Secretary Officer | 1 | $0 |
| Steve Conklin | CFO Officer | 10 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 3525 DEL MAR HEIGHTS ROAD 1873, SAN DIEGO, CA 92130-2199
- In care of
- % MICHELLE THOMPSON
- Mailing address (990-N for 2019)
- BOX 8552, Berkeley CA 94707
- Principal officer (990 for 2025)
- Michelle Thompson, 5379 Carmel Knolls Drive, San Diego, CA 92130
- Principal officer (990-N for 2019)
- Michelle Thompson, 5379 Carmel Knolls Drive, San Diego CA 92130
- Signed the 990
- Michelle Thompson, CEO
- Phone
- (858) 229-3399
California records
California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 82-3945232 or by the name OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC.
- Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
- Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)
- Secretary of State, bizfile Online
- Corporation status, entity number, agent for service
- Franchise Tax Board
- Entity status letter (state tax exemption, good standing)
Mission
Open Research Institute ORI is a non-profit research and development organization which provides all of its work to the general public under the principles of Open Source and Open Access to Research.
Program accomplishments
- Our largest program expense for 2025 was supporting open source digital radio research and development in Remote Labs. These expenses were to repair update and maintain Remote Labs workbenches and Remote Labs information technology infrastructure for Opulent Voice Haifuraiya HF Meander Antenna Polynomial Spline Modeling Synthetic Aperture Radar Modeling Phased Array Drone Near Field Modeling Neptune Earth Venus Earth Modeling and Mode Dynamic Transponder Modeling work.Expenses $4,296
- Our second largest program expense for 2025 was demonstrating prototypes of all active projects at the DEFCON conference in Las Vegas NV. Our open source digital radio exhibit in RF Village was visited by thousands of participants. Opulent Voice open source Synthetic Aperture Radar RFBitBanger and Ribbit were demonstrated live. Exhibits about successful sounding rocket launches with the University of Puerto Rico collaboration with Deep Space Exploration Society and IEEE were also presented and interpreted by four volunteers who worked the event full time from open to close Thursday through Sunday.Expenses $3,500
- Our third largest program expense for 2025 was AmbaSat launch costs. This expense puts an open source design in low earth orbit. This work was funded by a grant and has educated eleven individuals in the areas of printed circuit board design circuit analysis VHF UHF and microwave propagation and embedded processing and programming.Expenses $866
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990-N (e-Postcard). Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | May 15, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | May 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | May 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 82-3945232
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2019
- Accounting year ends
- December
- Files
- Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
- Category (NTEE)
- Science and technology (U05)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $524,061
- Income (IRS master file)
- $11,291
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | December 2025 | $11,291 | $11,507 | $524,061 | XML |
| 990 | December 2024 | $17,182 | $18,780 | $524,277 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2023 | $41,627 | $55,638 | $525,875 | XML |
| 990 | December 2022 | $997 | $142,268 | $539,886 | XML |
| 990 | December 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | December 2020 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990-N for 2019 Officer: Michelle Thompson | December 31, 2019 | ≤ $50,000 receipts | – | – | e-Postcard |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 82-3945232).
Questions about OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC
- What is the EIN of OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC is 82-3945232.
- Is OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2019.
- Are donations to OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC file?
- Form 990-N (e-Postcard). Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less.
- When is the next return of OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC due?
- The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 names Michelle Thompson.
- Who are the officers and directors of OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 5 people; 0 received compensation from the organization.
- How much revenue does OPEN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC have?
- On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $11,291, expenses of $11,507 and total assets of $524,061 at year end.
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