Backbones

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270485598
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Prospect Heights, IL, USA
Phone
2247661363
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$149,920
Expenses
$56,058
Assets
$127,540
Liabilities
$1,495

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIC LARSON (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LORI JANKOWSKI (DIRECTOR)
  • PETER YI (TREASURER)
  • ERIC LARSON (PRESIDENT)

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

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

Overview

Mission

Aims to empower people with spinal cord injuries and create leaders within our community that will contibute to relieving isolation and a better quality of life. The organization also vreates paid opportunities for people with disabilities through speaking opportunities, blogging and intersnips.

What it reported doing in 2025

Backbones programming aims to empower people with spinal cord injuries and to create leaders within our community that will contribute to relieving isolation and a better quality of life. The organization also creates paid opportunities for people with disabilities through speaking opportunities, blogging and internships.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.9%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 64%; rating input score 64

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 62.6%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.28; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 35.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 23.9% of revenue deployed · 64% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $36K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.