California · Nonprofit
KESTREL INSTITUTE
KESTREL INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $1,097,023 to it, the largest being Vanderbilt University ($1,097,023). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.9M
- Funders on record
- 1
- Grants received
- $1.1M
- Net assets
- $2.8M
What Kestrel Institute does
Mission
Kestrel Institute performs research on methods and tools for software assurance - using mathematical models and properties of algorithms and data structures to ensure that software performs predictably and reliably. Our research is communicated to the wider academic community through journals, conferences and technical meetings. Our tools are used by u.s. And international universities. We occasionally host students for brief periods to work on projects aligned with our research interests.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Bbn arc: subcontract under rtx bbn technologies, inc., for the darpa compartmentalization and privilege management program, to develop tools for restructuring large computer programs into more secure compartments. Bbn fight tonight: subcontract under rtx bbn technologies, inc., for the afrl fight tonight program.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Afrl fight tonight:-----------
$2,943,100 spent94% of program spendingBbn arc:-----------
$303,762 spent10% of program spendingBbn fight tonight:-----------
$149,153 spent5% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$-259,481 spent-8% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,136,534.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2018 to 2019, from $4.0M to $2.6M (−34%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 100% · 2018 97% · 2019 88% · 2020 97% · 2021 95% · 2022 96% · 2023 96% · 2024 91%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2021 → 2022: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $868k → $229k.
From the IRS filings of KESTREL INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
KESTREL INSTITUTE draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 1 state in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Government funding KESTREL INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $15.9M on record.
- Department of Defense$15.9M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like KESTREL INSTITUTE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
91% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Kestrel Development Corporation · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for KESTREL INSTITUTE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds KESTREL INSTITUTE?
- KESTREL INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $1,097,023 to it, the largest being Vanderbilt University ($1,097,023). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does KESTREL INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 1 organization giving $1,097,023 in grants to KESTREL INSTITUTE, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of KESTREL INSTITUTE?
- Vanderbilt University is the largest funder on record, with $1,097,023 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like KESTREL INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Kestrel Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 1 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing