COTA - Children's Organ Transplant Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 351674365
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Bloomington, IN, USA
- Phone
- 8003662682
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,481,067
- Expenses
- $7,122,108
- Assets
- $45,104,942
- Liabilities
- $186,653
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Richard Lofgren (Chief Executive Officer)
- Ryan Gallagher (Executive Director of Development)
Highest reported compensation
- Richard Lofgren (Chief Executive Officer): $336,979 total reported compensation
- Lisa Fulkerson (Chief Financial Officer (THRU June 2025)): $255,890 total reported compensation
- Kristy Brown (Chief Development Officer): $196,534 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Children's Organ Transplant Association helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support.
What it reported doing in 2024
COTA's program services consist of fundraising and family support for children and young adults in need of a life-saving transplant. COTA provides volunteers with fundraising assistance and support, pays patient transplant related expenses, and provides public education regarding organ and tissue donation. In the current year, COTA paid over 3.9 million dollars of transplant related expenses for over 950 families of transplant patients. COTA has over 2,800 active families/patient accounts located in nearly every state.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.5%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: 4.8%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.33; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.5% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $337K · 24 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $283K reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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 38/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.