Ellison Institute Research Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
852894959
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3102286400
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cancer Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,134,752
Expenses
$1,081,731
Assets
$21,079,722
Liabilities
$65,995

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID B AGUS (DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DAVID B AGUS (DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT)
  • LISA M FLASHNER (DIRECTOR/COO)
  • AWO ABLO (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The ellison institute research foundation is a multidisciplinary organization that brings together experts in diverse fields to move cancer care and wellness forward. Focusing on translational research, education and public health policy, the foundation strives to enable conversations that will spark innovation and transform lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Promotion of education in the sciences - insights forums: ellison institute research foundation holds educational forums throughout the year around topics of cancer. - junior fellows: the ellison institute research foundation has a unique program to foster scientific achievement for rising high school seniors interested in clinical or research oncology. This program fosters scientific education by incorporating hands-on experimentation in a collaborative environment.- this program is run by volunteers and in collaboration with ellison institute, llc.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 93
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.1%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 49.3%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.49; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.1% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $770K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.