California Trauma Research Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208116115
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cerritos, CA, USA
Phone
5625476241
Rating
33
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nerve, Muscle, Bone Diseases Research

Reported finances

Revenue
$110,857
Expenses
$0
Assets
$2,308,176
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY CHEN MD (CEO/PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GARY CHEN MD (CEO/PRESIDENT)
  • ELLEN CHEN (SECRETARY)
  • JIE HAN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Conduct clinical & medical scientific research in the field of orthopedic and hand surgery, particularly related to prevention & treatment of muscular skeletal and neurovascular diseases.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research in the muscular skeletal trauma, hand surgery, and peripheral nerve injury & regeneration.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: Limited
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: Limited
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -30.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed
  • Governance: 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 11 of 11 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.