Bridge of Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462960097
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3038766633
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kidney Disease

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,531,323
Expenses
$1,642,451
Assets
$1,502,004
Liabilities
$176,862

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LORI VACLAVIK (ED/PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LORI VACLAVIK (ED/PRESIDENT): $217,667 total reported compensation
  • CHRIS ATWATER (DIR OF TECH): $155,154 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE CHANDLER (PROGRAM DIRE): $147,543 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of bridge of life is to strengthen healthcare globally through sustainable programs that prevent and treat chronic disease.

What it reported doing in 2025

Kidney disease treatment - bridge of life tackles kidney disease comprehensively through a dual approach to life-saving treatment and proactive prevention within emerging markets. Our dialysis capacity program assesses, establishes, and expands dialysis clinics in underserved regions, delivering critical care to patients with end-stage renal disease who otherwise have limited options. To ensure these clinics remain sustainable long after our training concludes, we equip in-country partners with essential machinery, procedural training, water systems management, and comprehensive clinical education. In addition to dialysis consultation and training bridge of life provides medical supply donations to kidney care partners.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 47
  • Accountability: 54
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 22.2%; rating input score 22; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.9% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 22/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.