ALS Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954163338
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Woodland Hills, CA, USA
Phone
8188658067
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health Support Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,483,377
Expenses
$11,968,729
Assets
$16,358,915
Liabilities
$1,737,662

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Fred B Fisher (President Emeritus)
  • Sheri Strahl (CEO & President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Fred B Fisher (President Emeritus): $411,567 total reported compensation
  • Sheri Strahl (CEO & President): $375,803 total reported compensation
  • Cherryl Fluk (Exec VP, Mission Advancement): $260,910 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of ALS Network is to partner with the ALS community as we drive the discovery of prevention strategies, treatments, and cures for ALS; provide access to quality care and connection; and promote initiatives to improve health outcomes.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community Outreach & Awareness/Public Policy -Community outreach events, including our ALS Walk & Rolls, are opportunities to bring hope and a sense of community to persons with ALS and their families. By coming together to share their stories, people with ALS and their families, as well as those who have lost loved ones to ALS, find strength and support with one another. Community outreach events create an environment of empowerment where families and friends of persons with ALS are given an opportunity to affect public policy by signing petitions that are sent to the legislators representing their districts. These events also bring awareness to local communities of those fighting ALS and of the support available to them through ALS Network.The ALS Network Public Policy and Leadership Development program is intended to increase understanding, education and awareness of the devastating impact of ALS and the role that ALS Network plays in achieving the three core components of our mission; care and support for people with ALS and families, global research for treatments and cures, and important Public Policy initiatives. Through these efforts, we engage volunteers in the communities we serve and give them the opportunity to participate in advancing the activity of the organization and the achievement of our mission priorities. In addition, these activities have a direct positive impact on increasing access to care and ensuring significant federal funding of ALS research. This program also encompasses the organization's robust ALS Network Research Summit, an annual gathering of researchers, investigators, clinicians, biotech companies, government representatives and patient advocates in ALS and related fields. The purpose of the Summit is to increase, expedite and promote the amount and level of ALS and related research and to foster networking, collaboration and cooperation among investigators, their peers and their colleagues to identify, develop and deliver new and effective treatments, ideas and, ultimately, cures.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.4%; rating input score 90; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 11.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.37; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.4% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $10.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $412K · 27 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $649K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.