Carson Leslie Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010945033
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
2144172155
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$603,892
Expenses
$454,089
Assets
$1,339,291
Liabilities
$109,381

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gerald McDougall (President)
  • Neil Smiley (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Annette Leslie (Ch Mission Off): $63,333 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To raise funds for research leading to a cure for pediatric cancer and enrich the lives of teens in the battle.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research & Advocacy - We held our annual Golden Toast reception in DC honoring the collaborative efforts of the childhood cancer community, welcoming over 200 guests during the annual event during Childhood Cancer Awareness month, bringing further awareness to the devastating problem of, and need for, childhood cancer research. We also hosted over 25 researchers from institutions across Texas at our biennial Researchers Round Up conference. Researchers participated in breakout sessions to arrive at research areas for requests for proposals to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Finally, we continued to invest in leading medulloblastoma research, including providing $100K to the Childhood Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) for sample expansion in the liquid biopsy research project.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 72% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.7%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 77.1%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94.9%; rating input score 95; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 24.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.95; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.7% of revenue deployed · 77.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $350K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.