Delta Dental Fund

What it reported doing in 2024

The Delta Dental Fund's (DDF) mission is to develop and enhance partnerships and programs to improve oral and overall health. The DDF has been committed to this purpose for over four decades. Over that time, millions of people have benefited from grants, programming, scholarships and continuing education programs provided by the DDF. Since it was established in 1980, the DDF has continually increased its efforts to achieve these goals in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. In 2024, the DDF committed nearly $6.1 million in grants, scholarships, and educational resources, impacting more than 4.3 million lives in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana North Carolina and beyond. More than 354,000 educational brochures, flyers and posters, along with 351 miles of floss and 282,554 toothbrushes were donated to nonprofit organizations to disseminate in their communities. The DDF also began implementing a new strategic plan, which focuses on five strategic pillars-access to care, advocacy, education, emerging initiatives, and workforce development. Throughout the year, 72% of the programs funded most closely aligned with access to care, 15% with education, 11% with workforce development and 2% with advocacy and emerging initiatives. At the end of the day, access to care initiatives make up the majority of the requests. Tens of thousands of people need help getting dental care, and many safety-net clinics need training and equipment to offer those services. With one in twenty Americans living with an intellectual or developmental disability, oral health equity cannot be achieved until their needs are met. Through the DDF's Centers for Inclusive Dentistry program, 78 individuals at 12 safety-net dental clinics have been provided with the training and resources necessary to deliver high-quality dental treatment to people with disabilities. The DDF has partnered with NYU and Nisonger Center at Ohio State University to offer the training free of charge. Free virtual continuing education credits are also available to providers through Penn Dental as a result of DDF funding. In 2024, 50 nonprofit organizations received Community Mini-Grants, totaling $300,000. The DDF's Community Mini-grant Program provides grants of $10,000 or less to nonprofits that promote or provide oral health care and initiatives that align with the foundation's five strategic pillars. The DDF continued its support of the Victors for Veterans program with the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. The program provides free, comprehensive dental care to qualifying veterans, performed by third- and fourth-year dental interns, who gain valuable learning opportunities in community health settings. They also provide oral hygiene education to their patients. Through a partnership with TeamSmile, hundreds of children in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Detroit were provided with free dental care and oral health education. The events were held at professional sports stadiums and staffed by volunteer dental professionals. At the end of the day, when the events were done and the volunteers had gone home, the TeamSmile staff continued to find dental homes for the children who needed it. The dental workforce is experiencing an unprecedented staffing shortage, particularly with hygienists. In 2024, the DDF partnered with the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA) to create Hygienists Inspired, a chairside recruitment program. The program is designed to diversify and strengthen the hygiene profession by providing resources for practicing hygienists to recruit through meaningful chairside interactions with patients. The DDF and ADHA have identified at least three individuals in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana to serve as ambassadors to promote the profession. In conjunction with the Michigan Primary Care Association, the DDF convened oral health advocates from around the state of Michigan to hold its Third Annual Workforce Development Summit. Professional facilitators guided t

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 93.9%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 63.6%; rating input score 64; 11th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 27.7%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.98; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 47.2%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings