BrightFocus Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237337229
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Clarksburg, MD, US
- Phone
- 1 (800) 437-2423
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $63,423,924
- Expenses
- $53,295,009
- Assets
- $65,129,292
- Liabilities
- $28,168,825
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STACY PAGOS HALLER (PRESIDENT/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- STACY PAGOS HALLER (PRESIDENT/CEO): $471,505 total reported compensation
- NANCY KEACH (SR. VP, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS): $321,870 total reported compensation
- R BRIAN ELDERTON (SR. VP, DEVELOPMENT): $301,369 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Envisioning a world where we all age free from diseases of mind and sight. BrightFocus Foundation is on a mission to cure Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and stop vision loss in its tracks.
What it reported doing in 2024
Macular degeneration research (mdr)please refer to schedule o for a complete description of the accomplishments for macular degeneration research.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 51% for direct work, and 49% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.4%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 65
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Pass
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Pass
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 54th 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; 77th 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: 16%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 64.4% of revenue deployed · 65.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $34.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $472K · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $14.9M reported
- Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 67 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 57 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.