Commonwealth Cancer Consortium Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851681659
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cambridge, MA, USA
Phone
8007579881
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,409,685
Expenses
$28,738,257
Assets
$57,023,112
Liabilities
$1,076,744

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TYLER JACKS (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHEAL NOBLE (CHIEF DATA SCIENCE OFFICER): $346,224 total reported compensation
  • LISA SCHWARZ (COO/CPO/SECRETARY): $319,764 total reported compensation
  • JESSE BOEHM (CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER): $303,514 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Break through cancer is a foundation dedicated to supporting translational research in the most difficult to treat cancers. Our partner organizations are among the top cancer research centers and together, represent some of the most brilliant, creative minds in the country. We believe break through cancer is the beginning of a scientific movement that accepts nothing less than multi-institutional collaboration in patient centric cancer research. The foundation will work closely with teams of scientists, engineers, and clinical researchers to focus on diagnosing, treating, and ideally curing some of the most intractable forms of cancer. While many patients have benefited from advances in research and technology, there are too many who have been left behind. There are too many cancers where the needle remains unmoved. Break through cancer is committed to making headway in these extremely complex, challenging diseases, and committed to finding hope for patients and their families.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provides funding to teams of researchers from the five top cancer research centers: dana-farber cancer institute, the sidney kimmel comprehensive cancer center at john hopkins, Massachusetts institute of technology's koch institute for integrative cancer research, the university of Texas md anderson cancer center, and memorial sloan kettering cancer center in order to help intercept cancer early, develop more effective treatments, and accelerate cures for some of the deadliest cancers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.3%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th 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: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -114.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.98; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 36.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $26.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $346K · 25 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $341K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.