Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Legal name: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc

Overview

Mission

To reduce cancer, reduce the burden of cancer, and the fear of cancer, through excellence and compassion in patient care, research, education, and community outreach.

What it reported doing in 2023

Community benefits - see schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 77% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042263040
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Headquarters
Boston, MA, United States
Phone
617-632-3000
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cancer Research

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 98.5%; rating input score 98; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.6% of revenue deployed · 91.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 64 of 65 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.1B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2.5M · 89 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $356.7M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 45 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 14 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 52 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 40 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

89 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Laurie H Glimcher MD (Trustee, President & CEO): $2,459,825 total reported compensation
  • William Hahn MD PHD (COO & EVP): $1,349,728 total reported compensation
  • Elizabeth Liebow (Former Key Employee): $1,257,451 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2023.