Curebound

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460552414
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Diego, CA, US
Phone
(619) 314-5878
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,968,237
Expenses
$14,851,654
Assets
$11,857,815
Liabilities
$2,822,688

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANNE MARBARGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANNE MARBARGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $497,091 total reported compensation
  • KAREN HOOPER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $325,985 total reported compensation
  • HEATHER DEAN-PRESNALL (SR. DIRECTOR, STEWARDSHIP): $163,962 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Curebound is a rapidly growing philanthropic organization dedicated to funding breakthrough cancer research.

What it reported doing in 2025

Curebound is a community-powered cancer research accelerator with a unique funding model built on a core belief that the best ideas happen when the right people work together. We unite top scientists, passionate advocates, entrepreneurs and investors to advance cancer research that has the greatest opportunity to improve detection, treatment, and survivorship. All curebound grants demand scientific collaboration across institutions to drive results for patients who need it now. Through rigorous review and transparency, we direct every investment dollar towards meaningful impact. Representative research partner institutions include (but not limited to): uc san diego moores cancer center, the salk institute, sanford-burnham prebys medical discovery institute, rady children's hospital, scripps research, and la jolla institute of immunology.headquartered in san diego, one of the nation's premier hubs for cancer research and life-science innovation, curebound catalyzes complementary strengths across biology, technology, data science, and clinical networks to accelerate the translation of discovery into clinical impact. Curebound allocates and administers research funding through five grant mechanisms spanning discovery through clinical translation: discovery, targeted, catalyst, equity, cure prize. Each of these grant types aligns to curebound's overarching and research roadmap with clearly defined timelines and measurable milestones that are tracked to accelerate progress.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 87% 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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 64th 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: -35.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $497K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $336K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.