Maryland · Nonprofit
SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION
SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION (Maryland) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $72,500 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($60,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $418k
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $73k
- Net assets
- $3.5M
What Society for the Scientific Study of Religion does
Mission
To promote the study of religions through those disciplines maintaining high academic, professional, and ethical standards as they employ valid reliable scientific methods in their investigation. We seek to promote dialogue among the science and other disciplines engaged in the systematic efforts to understand religion.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Annual meeting held to stimulate communication between students of religion and science.
$158,735 spentof which $41,733 as grants$93,165 earned by the program55% of program spendingPublication of the journal for the scientific study of religion (jssr).
$122,480 spentof which $68,084 as grants$122,942 earned by the program42% of program spendingSupplemental services to promote the scientific study of religion.
$8,041 spent3% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $289,256.
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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $3.7M to $3.2M (−16%).
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.
10% of SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (100% for the typical peer).
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
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $10k → $13k.
From the IRS filings of SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION’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.
How concentrated its funding is
SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 83% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2020 50% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 80% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. 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
SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Maryland, across 2 states 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.
Against its field
SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 12,816 religion nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 12,816 religion nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION
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 Maryland
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
24%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION: 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 SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION?
- SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION (Maryland) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $72,500 to it, the largest being JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION ($60,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $72,500 in grants to SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION?
- JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $60,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Maryland. 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 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion →
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 2 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