Ear Research Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
591862386
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sarasota, FL, USA
Phone
9413650367
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$346,099
Expenses
$551,606
Assets
$2,205,805
Liabilities
$955,493

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MR GEOFFREY FRAZIER (BOARD CHAIRMAN/CEO)
  • DR HERBERT SILVERSTEIN (PRESIDENT/FOUNDER)
  • MS CHRISTINA DEFRANISCO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MS CHRISTINA DEFRANISCO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $84,101 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Education, research & treatment of hearing & balance disorders

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational seminars, workshops & symposiums on treatment of ear and related diseases.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 69% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

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: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 32.9%; rating input score 33
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -59.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 32.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $182K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.