Can Do Multiple Sclerosis

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742337853
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Avon, CO, USA
Phone
9709261272
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,035,016
Expenses
$2,266,992
Assets
$1,692,892
Liabilities
$297,027

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Lisa Mattis (Ex Officio): $171,774 total reported compensation
  • Joelle Costello (VP-Finance): $124,203 total reported compensation
  • Kathy Costello (COO): $35,818 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Can Do Multiple Sclerosis leads the way with comprehensive programs that empower people and their support partners living with MS to transform and improve their quality of life.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, Can Do MS reached more than 371,000 individuals and families living with MS with 200+ health and wellness education engagement opportunities across the country, delivered entirely free of cost. Medical professionals delivered coaching and content on a variety of topics provided live, virtually, and in-person, including discrete coaching series, webinars, on-demand exercise, archived presentations, articles, podcasts, and short-form videos.All Can Do MS Education: Provides opportunities for people with MS and their care partners to learn new actionable information, connect with others and become activated to develop new MS management and health strategies.Helps people with MS become knowledgeable and powerful healthcare self-advocates who can engage effectively with their healthcare team. Delivers a variety of program modalities to meet the range of learning styles and access needs of our participants. Ensures cultural sensitivity and attention to health equity in all programs and engagement strategies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: -11.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.