THE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT

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Financial Vulnerability Assessment (Tuckman-Chang)

4 risk indicators measuring financial stability and operational resilience

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Financial Trends

Organization Details

Formation Year

2018

Legal Domicile

Principal Officer

KATHERINE ZACARIAN

Phone

7074398688

Tax Period

2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31

THE EARTH SPECIES PROJECT, founded in 2018, is a community nonprofit that reported $3.5M in total revenue in fiscal year 2023. Revenue grew 17% year-over-year, indicating healthy expansion. Expenses of $3.0M left a modest 14% surplus.

Mission

The Earth Species Project (ESP) is a non-profit organization focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to advance our understanding of animal communication, and ultimately to decode non-human languages. We believe AI has the potential to transform the way we perceive the world around us, expanding the ability of human beings to learn from other species.

Program Service Accomplishments

Program 1

Expenses: $2,344,530

ESP has significantly expanded the scope of our operations and impact over the past year including: Expanding our team from 9 to 15 people; Publishing our technical roadmap in a co-authored...

ESP has significantly expanded the scope of our operations and impact over the past year including: Expanding our team from 9 to 15 people; Publishing our technical roadmap in a co-authored perspectives piece in Science magazine alongside several of our partners; Developing new tools to support processing of bioacoustic data, including Voxaboxen and bio denoising tools; Continuing to iterate on our previously published foundation models and benchmarks; Continuing to work with a wide range of research scientists and institutions on data sharing and research projects. Supporting the efforts of the wider research community by acting as science leads for a small grant program on AI and animal communication administered by Experiment.com; Significantly raising awareness of the topic of AI and animal communication through our website, newsletters, social media, events and in-depth international feature coverage including articles in the Financial Times, Wired, Scientific American and Geekwire.

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Trantor Score

Financial Health Score (300–850) · Liquidity · Solvency · Sustainability · Efficiency

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Liquidity (40%) • Solvency (30%) • Sustainability (20%) • Efficiency (10%)

Financial Overview (2023)

Revenue Breakdown

Contributions & Grants $3,444,039

Program Service Revenue $0

Investment Income $45,855

Other Revenue $14,689

TOTAL REVENUE $3,504,583

Expense Breakdown

Grants Paid $0

Salaries & Benefits $1,738,657

Fundraising Expenses $312,779

Program Expenses $2,344,530

Other Expenses $1,273,681

TOTAL EXPENSES $3,012,338

Year-over-Year Comparison

	2023	2022	Change
Revenue	$3,504,583	$2,986,377	+0.2%
Expenses	$3,012,338	$2,138,062	+0.4%
Net Income	$492,245	$848,315	-0.4%

Key Indicators

✗ Grants to Organizations ✗ Grants to Individuals ✗ Lobbying ✗ Political Activity ✓ Foreign Activities ✗ Donor Advised Fund ✓ Schedule B Required

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Financial Health Indicators

Comprehensive financial analysis: Altman Z-Score, liquidity, solvency, sustainability, efficiency, and growth metrics

Financial Distress Indicator

Liquidity & Cash Position

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Altman Z-Score • Liquidity Ratios • Solvency Analysis • Growth Indicators • Efficiency Metrics

Governance

Voting Members

Independent Members

Employees

Volunteers

N/A

Governance Policies

✗ Conflict of Interest Policy

✗ Whistleblower Policy

✗ Document Retention Policy

Special Practices & Reported Activities

✗ Operated a School

✗ Operated a Hospital

✗ Provided First Class Travel

⚠ Reported Conflict of Interest

✗ Reported Asset Diversion

✗ Excess Benefit Transaction

✗ Made Political Expenditures

✗ Engaged in Lobbying

✗ Operated Donor Advised Fund

✗ Maintained Art Collections

✗ Filed Form 720

Compensation of Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Total Officers

$340,886

Total Directors

$346,886

Key Employees

Highest Compensated

reported

Name	Title	Hours/Week	Role	Reportable Comp	Other Comp	Total
Andrea Austin	Head of Operations	40.00		$180,000	$31,509	$211,509
KATHERINE ZACARIAN	CEO	40.00	Officer Director	$180,000	$16,372	$196,372
Benjamin Hoffman	Senior AI Research	40.00		$146,250	$33,026	$179,276
Madeline Cusimano	Senior AI Research	40.00		$146,250	$23,901	$170,151
Jen-Yu Liu	Senior AI Research	40.00		$146,250	$18,062	$164,312
Masato Hagiwara	Senior AI Research	40.00		$127,262	$24,648	$151,910
Sara Keen	Senior Research Sc	40.00		$129,167	$19,063	$148,230
AZA RASKIN	President	16.00	Officer Director	$135,000	$9,514	$144,514
MICHAEL SELVITELLE	Senior Advisor	8.00	Director	$6,000	$0	$6,000
SEAN WHITE	Director	2.00	Director	$0	$0	$0
WENDY HANAMURA	Director	2.00	Director	$0	$0	$0
BREWSTER KAHLE	Director	2.00	Director	$0	$0	$0
MERLIN VAN LAWICK	Director	2.00	Director	$0	$0	$0
KAY BUTTERFIELD	Director	2.00	Director	$0	$0	$0

Note: Compensation data is self-reported by the organization on their Form 990. "Reportable Comp" includes salary, bonuses, and other reportable compensation from the organization and related organizations. "Other Comp" includes benefits, deferred compensation, and non-taxable benefits.

Historical Data

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Assets	Net Income
2024	No data	No data	No data	No data
2023	$3,504,583	$3,012,338	$2,446,094	$492,245
2022	$2,986,377	$2,138,062	$1,640,646	$848,315
2021	$1,595,562	$1,139,618	$653,640	$455,944
2020	$613,595	$581,204	$160,144	$32,391
2019	$350,000	$340,381	$121,365	$9,619