California · Nonprofit
SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE
SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $160,289 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($60,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 75% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.3M
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $160k
- Net assets
- $875k
What Sustainable Sciences Institute does
Mission
The Sustainable Sciences Institute (duns xxx-xx-xxxx, ein xxx-xx-xxxx) is a 501c(3) incorporated in san francisco, california in 1998. Ssi is dedicated to developing endogenous scientific research capacity in resource-poor settings with pressing health problems. To this end, ssi provides unique programs to develop and support scientific and public health communities and systems. Subsidiaries of ssi are incorporated in nicaragua (2004) and egypt (2011). There is one board of directors located in san francisco. All funds are administered through ssi's san francisco headquarters with nicaraguan and egyptian field components implemented by local staff.ssi's president, eva harris phd (professor of immunology and infectious disease, univ. Of california, berkeley) began ssi's foundational work in 1988 under the applied molecular biology/appropriate technology transfer program and was awarded a macarthur genius fellowship in 1997. Ssi's vice president, dr. Ed wakil (director, san francisco
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Ecuador programs introduce during the current year.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Research on infectious disease in nicaraguassi carries out research on infectious diseases in nicaragua with committed research funding of approximately $7 million over the next three years from government sources (national institutes of health, centers for disease control and prevention, us agency for international development) via direct awards and subcontracts from large research universities (university of california, colorado state university, university of michigan, mt. Sinai school of medicine, stanford university). Ssi also receives funding from private foundations (ibrahim el-hefni technical training foundation, bill and melinda gates foundation, instituto slim para la salud, ubs optimus foundation) and contracts from smaller private organizations (sevident, paxvax).in 2016, the zika pandemic hit latin america, including our site in nicaragua, revealing zika's relationship to devastating congenital birth defects.in collaboration with nicaraguan colleagues, ssi refocused its existing dengue and chikungunya research to address urgent questions about zika; efforts to develop and evaluate new diagnostic and research techniques were incorporated into existing hospital and…
$2,353,204 spentof which $4,398 as grants96% of program spendingECUADOR PROGRAMS -In Ecuador, SSI provided technical, logistical and monetary support to develop alaboratory at INSPI (Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Salud Publica). Inaddition, SSI launched BIENSUR, a comprehensive care program to improveindigenous Ecuadorian womens health outcomes and well-being. A successful 2024pilot reached 50 urban, migrant, indigenous women integrating sexual andreproductive healthcare (SRH) including HPV treatment, mental resilience training,gender violence prevention (GBV), and community empowerment. SSI also providedscholarships for several students to complete their degrees at the SalesianUniversity, Quito, Ecuador.
$101,751 spentof which $67,262 as grants4% of program spendingCapacity-building workshopsled by ssi's scientific director, maria elena penaranda phd, ssi's capacity-building program trains and transfers technologies to nascent scientists and health professionals around the world via in-country, short-term, intensive hands-on workshops. Workshops are funded by government contracts, non-governmental organizations, scientific institutions, universities, private foundations and individual donors. Workshop topics include: techniques for cost-effective diagnosis and epidemiological analysis of region-endemic infectious diseases, research design, manuscript writing for publication, as well as proposal writing aimed at helping scientists crystalize their ideas and successfully apply for larger funding opportunities.ssi engages talented biomedical scientists and program directors and by extension their institutions - to serve as local trainers and mentors.using this "train the trainers" approach, ssi has developed a network of experienced peer trainers and tutors that has conducted over 100 workshops and trained more than 2,500 health researchers from 33 low income countries in africa, asia and the americas.this "train the trainers" model, combined…
$8,000 spent0% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,462,955.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 2018 to 2019, from $1.1M to $1.6M (+45%).
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: 2018 93% · 2019 95% · 2020 94% · 2021 99% · 2022 99% · 2023 98% · 2024 96%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (97% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 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.
Chief executive
Josefina Coloma
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $10k → $9k.
5 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 75% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES 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.
How concentrated its funding is
SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 77%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
100% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“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
75% of SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $40k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside California, across 1 state.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $120k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. 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
SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $160k to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,607 international nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $882k on record.
- Agency for International Development$882k
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 SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES 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
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES 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 SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE?
- SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $160,289 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($60,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 75% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $160,289 in grants to SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES INSTITUTE?
- NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST 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 SUSTAINABLE SCIENCES 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 Sustainable Sciences Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 6 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