Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363379124
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3126420049
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health Disorders

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,720,212
Expenses
$3,264,268
Assets
$3,200,650
Liabilities
$245,559

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL POLLOCK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - CEO (UNTIL 12/31/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL POLLOCK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - CEO (UNTIL 12/31/25)): $338,072 total reported compensation
  • BETSY RUBINSTEIN (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $157,556 total reported compensation
  • LISA KARLOV (CHIEF FINANCIAL & ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER - CFAO (A): $148,494 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Depression and bipolar support alliance provides hope, help, support and education for people with mood disorders.

What it reported doing in 2025

Grass roots and peer services - through advocacy efforts, dbsa amplifies the voices of those living with mood disorders and works toward systemic change in the delivery and quality of mental health care. Dbsa works with70+ affiliate chapters across the nation, offering nearly 400 weekly support group meetings and other vital mental health resources in local communities. Dbsa also hosts more than 30 national online support groups weekly, with 83% of post-meeting participants feeling more hopeful and 81% learning new strategies for managing their mood disorder. Dbsa operates a peer specialist course to train individuals with lived experience of mood disorders to provide peer support services and pursue state certification or credentialing. The program provides structured instruction aligned with samhsa and veterans health administration peer support standards, including active listening, motivational interviewing, and recovery oriented support. Since inception, more than 1,000 individuals have completed the program, strengthening the peer specialist workforce and supporting access to recovery oriented mental health services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.3%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 58%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • 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: -20%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.98; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.3% of revenue deployed · 58% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $338K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $123K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.