Connecting for Better Health

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
934221188
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Larkspur, CA, USA
Phone
4153783754
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,157,981
Expenses
$2,122,633
Assets
$44,434
Liabilities
$101

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Chaitali Pandit (Chairman)
  • Katie Heidorn (Secretary)
  • Lori Hack (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Connecting for Better Health brings together consumer groups, health care providers, health plans, and technology partners dedicated to advancing statewide health data exchange in California. The team members meet regularly as a coalition to hear from guest speakers, discuss recent regulations and policy guidance, share new research, and develop policy recommendations related to health data exchange. The team members also organize panels, highlight patient and provider stories, and develop educational materialsto inform policy makers and our members about the current health data exchange landscape and demonstrate urgency for action.

What it reported doing in 2025

Policy & Advocacy Achieved a landmark legislative win in 2025, sponsoring SB 660 (Menjivar), the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework bill, backed by six letters of support, six hearing testimonies, and 44 bill supporters; the bill was signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 3, 2025. Tracked 28 state bills related to data sharing, artificial intelligence, data collection, information privacy, data security, prior authorization, and telehealth, and engaged two CalHHS departments on Data Exchange Framework policy and implementation. Hosted C4BH's 2025 Day at the Capitol, coordinating 44 legislative office visits with 50 participating coalition partners. Submitted six public comment letters on the DHCS Medi-Cal Transformation Concept Paper, DHCS Data Sharing Authorization Guidance, the CMS Health Technology Request for Information, the HHS HIPAA Cybersecurity Proposed Rule, the CalHHS Centralized Roster Service Request for Information, and the CalHHS Data Exchange Framework Policies & Procedures offering recommendations grounded in real-world insights to advance coalition priorities. Amplified this work through two press releases and five media quote contributions, in addition to news publications, storytelling, and podcast appearances driving public conversation around data exchange.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $137.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.6%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 133.1% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 95.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.