SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

Ssm health cardinal glennon children's foundation (the foundation) is an independent charitable organization fostering philanthropic support for ssm health cardinal glennon children's hospital (cardinal glennon) in st. Louis, Missouri. Cardinal glennon is a 195-bed pediatric hospital offering comprehensive medical services, including inpatient and outpatient surgeries using state-of-the-art technology and facilities. With more than 60 pediatric medical and surgical subspecialties, cardinal glennon offers a distributed network of pediatric programs throughout Missouri and Illinois. Since 2013, u.s. News & world report has recognized cardinal glennon as a best children's hospital in multiple specialties. A teaching hospital, cardinal glennon is home to the saint louis university pediatric residency program and is staffed by slucare physicians.the foundation is entrusted with the task of finding and strengthening relationships with friends and organizations in our surrounding communities and garnering the resources that will sustain our patient services, capital needs and community programs. In keeping with the core values of ssm health, we are good stewards of our resources, managing all contributions for the maximum benefit of the hospital and the patients and communities we serve. In 2024, the foundation provided philanthropic support for numerous programs and services at ssm health cardinal glennon children's hospital including, but not limited to: clinical excellencethe generosity of our donors has supported the growth of many of our nationally ranked programs, from research support to technological advancements. For 2024-25, our nationally ranked programs include: pediatric cardiology and heart surgery pediatric gastroenterology and gi surgery neonatology pediatric cancer pediatric nephrology pediatric pulmonology and lung surgery pediatric urologyphilanthropic dollars have supported initiatives such as facility updates to improve patient safety and comfort; ancillary programs to enhance access and address family social needs; and research support for clinical trials and data-sharing to improve care and best practices.supportive services and community outreachthese traditionally non-billable services are vital to service provision in a pediatric hospital, and therefore rely on philanthropic support. These services include child life and creative arts therapies, providing education, advocacy, and developmentally appropriate interventions to help relieve anxiety and promote coping skills and normalization during a hospital stay; and the shining star school, which supports our patients' academic progress while in our care. As part of our commitment to the community, the foundation also supports numerous community outreach and educational programs including reach out and read, promoting early literacy through parental education and free books for children in low-income neighborhoods; and the ssm health cardinal glennon safety program, which educates the community on numerous injury prevention topics including safe sleep, vehicle passenger safety and more, and provides low-cost or no-cost safety resources to families in need. Staff support initiativessince 2020, our donors have generously supported our care for caregivers program. In addition to opportunities for brief respite and team building, care for caregivers provides emotional first aid to clinical teams or individual caregivers dealing with a difficult patient care situation.donor support also enables our staff to continue their education through a variety of opportunities, particularly annual professional conferences. Our nurses and other staff belong to dozens of professional organizations whose annual conferences are a time of learning, sharing, and making new connections. Lessons learned are then often translated into process changes or other ideas for improvement that enhance patient care.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 24.5%; rating input score 24
• Program expense ratio: 56.7%; rating input score 57
• Fundraising efficiency: $9.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 93.7%; rating input score 94; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 74.8%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.92; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings