Arthritis Research Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
862752635
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pacific Grove, CA, USA
Phone
8318870278
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health

Reported finances

Revenue
$272,247
Expenses
$332,754
Assets
$157,142
Liabilities
$16,430

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Marc Lieberman MD (Director)
  • Christopher Meckel MD (Director)
  • Lester Miller MD (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the organization is to improve the quality of life of people living with arthritis through funding of research and education.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Arthritis Research Coalition supports arthritis-related community education; juvenile and adult arthritis, rheumatology and autoimmune diseases research at Stanford Medicine and University of California San Francisco research laboratories. We benefit the community by supporting arthritis research by conducting special events and community education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -22.2%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $333K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.