American Brain Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201852597
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Maple Grove, MN, USA
Phone
763.516.3583
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Brain Disorders

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$624,891
Expenses
$625,564
Assets
$728,265
Liabilities
$95,768

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Kathleen Sale (Executive Dir.): $157,792 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To bring together representatives of patient advocacy organizations, physician organizations, and other related groups that focus on the prevention, study, treatment, and cure of brain and neurological diseases and disorders.

What it reported doing in 2025

The American Brain Coalition (ABC) is a nonprofit organization comprised of nearly 200 of the United States leading professional neurological, psychological, and psychiatric associations and patient organizations, clinicians, researchers, academia, industry, and government agencies. We are a strong and powerful voice for the millions of people with disabling brain disorders, bringing together organizations that represent concerned and interested patients, families, and professionals. This voice is used to encourage the development of coordinated activities on a shared agenda, advocate for increased support of research that will lead to better treatment; services and support that will improve patients quality of life; as well as a national commitment towards finding cures for individuals withdisabling brain disorders.AdvocacyABCs broad advocacy focus appeals to all member groups. Carrying out this work brings the ABC closer to fulfilling its mission to advance understanding of brain functions to reduce the burden and stigma of brain diseases and conditions in order to improve the lives of impacted people. This includes individuals with lived experience, their caregivers, those who treat patients, and researchers and scientists studying the brain. Research shows that when we adopt healthier brain habits, cognitive function can often be enhanced or extended. ABC is committed to bringing science-backed brain health approaches to the public, while also encouraging research and dialogue on the responsible use of advances to brain science.Innovative Approaches for Developing New Treatments and TherapeuticsABC recognizes the unmet need for the development of products to treat brain diseases and conditions. Innovation is critical to improve the lives of people with these conditions. Federal agencies, like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), must develop policies that keep pace with emerging brain science and work to advance discoveries, ensuring that individuals with brain diseases and conditions have access to new, safe, and effective treatments and therapeutics.Member Engagement and OutreachABC offers educational webinars to our members and affiliates on a wide range of topics that are of interest to the brain disease community. This format allows us to reach hundreds of individuals and easily provide education to our members. It also allows our members to participate in real time, which will allow them to ask questions of the panelists or listen when its convenient for them since ourwebinars are archived.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 84.1% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $521K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $158K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.