Children's Hospital Association Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

To create substantial funds to support the health care-related needs of children and their families. The following programs received cha grant funding in 2025 totaling $502,803: child life services in the ed ($60,000)amidst the uncertainty of an unfamiliar environment and the chaos of the movement of staff and noises of medical equipment, child life specialists support patients and families as essential partners in pediatric emergency care. They guide children and families through navigating, understanding, discussing, and overcoming life's most challenging events. Cha is proud to continue to fund expanded staffing coverage in both the st. Paul and minneapolis emergency departments.child life zone staffing ($10,000)the child life zone is a unique state-of-the art therapeuc play area that supports paent and family needs for interacon, exploraon, and relaxaon. This environment provides children and teens with a place to connect with others and explore healing therapies. Cha's funding supports staffing the child life zone with trained professionals.expanding services for children's outpatient mental health services ($60,000)our country is facing an unprecedent rise in need for pediatric mental healthcare. Cha's funding will enable the outpatient mental health team to receive the necessary training to provide specialized services for kids with autism and adhd. This will reduce wait times, increase quality of care, and more effectively meet the needs of kids and families while integrating trauma-informed practices.listening to families: partnering with parents to strengthen transitions, communication, and mental health support after nicu discharge ($40,000)children's Minnesota's extremely preterm outcomes project is actively collecting data that current medical follow-up alone cannot fully assess to better understand and address the challenges of transitions following a nicu discharge. Cha is funding the addition of a nicu follow-up social worker who will integrate family partnership and real-time psychosocial care to improve both the experience and effectiveness of care.music therapy ($50,000)music therapy provides a unique way to alleviate pain and anxiety and maximize expressions and coping skills in children receiving care at children's Minnesota. Music therapists work with medical teams to meet patient treatment goals through applied evidence-based musical interventions.neuro-oncology support program ($20,000)given the rarity of pediatric brain and spinal tumors, families of pediatric neuro-oncology patients often experience feelings of loneliness and isolation during their medical journeys. To meet the needs expressed by families and staff, cha is thrilled to fund children's Minnesota's first neuro-oncology support program. Designed for the whole family, this program will provide in-person support groups with a licensed mental health practitioner, community-style meals, sibling care, and opportunities to connect with and learn from community resources and speakers.neuroscience/neurosurgery spina bifida & down syndrome programs ($2,600)cha is proud to fund chadis, a fully hipaa compliant online clinical process support system that will enable early detection of needs and concerns for spina bifida and downs syndrome patients. In addition to standardizing benchmarks and allowing clinicians to screen and gather information on sleep, development, mental health, independence, and social determinants of health, this software also increases families' access to healthcare.cleft lip care & support for ent ($8,000)cha is providing funding to support care-coordination and take-home resources for families and caregivers of children born with a cleft lip, cleft palate, and/or craniofacial differences. In addition to the normal stresses of newborn, parents of a baby with a craniofacial condition have so much more to navigate, including breathing and feeding issues. This funding will provide essential items for the first weeks of their child

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 54.6%; rating input score 55
• Program expense ratio: 62.1%; rating input score 62
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.47 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: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 24th 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: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 19.8%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.45; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings