Families Fighting Flu Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204184483
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
7032034335
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Health Program (Includes General Health and Wellness Promotion Services)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$695,401
Expenses
$618,750
Assets
$1,312,604
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY STEIN (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHELE SLAFKOSKY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELE SLAFKOSKY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $144,044 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promote public health by focusing local, regional, and national attention on the potentially deadly consequences of influenza for children and adults; to save lives and reduce hospitalizations by protecting children, families, and communities against influenza.

What it reported doing in 2024

Flu champion program: the flu champion program remains a key focus for families fighting flu as the organization expands its efforts to raise awareness about the seriousness of influenza using three pillars: vaccinate, test, treat. Over the past year, the program has grown through increased engagement with member families, advocates, volunteers, healthcare professionals, school nurses, and other community partners. These collaborations have helped broaden outreach efforts and amplify education and advocacy initiatives at the national, regional, and local levels. Additionally, the organization developed new flu-related educational materials and social media resources, targeting high-risk groups, including adolescents, individuals with chronic conditions, adults aged 65 and older, pregnant women, and those residing in rural areas. To reach a specific audience more effectively, tailored messaging was created to extend its impact. Families fighting flu launched its third annual influencer campaign, partnering with ten influencers to highlight the dangers of the flu and the importance of recognizing symptoms early. This campaign successfully expanded the organization's demographic reach, especially among communities facing health disparities.program services accomplishments: in 2024, families fighting flu made significant progress in expanding its outreach, education, and advocacy efforts to prevent influenza and promote vaccination across all communities, especially underserved ones. The organization improved its existing educational materials and developed new resources, including indigenous-specific content, available in both print and digital formats. The organization enhanced materials with real family stories and translated them to meet the needs of diverse audiences. Thousands of resources were distributed nationwide during the flu season, and family stories were widely shared through social media, live events, media interviews, and webinarsreaching parents, caregivers, adolescents, healthcare professionals, and the general public.the national public education campaign, stay in the game, continued to expand, spreading vital messages about the seriousness of influenza and the importance of annual vaccination for everyone six months and older. New materials were developed for schools and colleges, along with increased social media resources. These efforts helped the organization reach over 500 million people through media campaigns and community storytelling.families fighting flu also expanded its advocacy efforts through partnerships and member families to share messages both virtually and in person nationwide. Additionally, the organization supported targeted initiatives in several states to raise awareness about the flu's health impact and the importance of strong immunization policies. Weekly flu news updates were distributed to partners and advocates, offering timely flu surveillance data and research. More than 70 family stories were featured on the fff website and promoted through multi-platform campaigns, emphasizing the urgent need for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. These achievements demonstrate the organization's ongoing commitment to public health and influenza awareness nationwide.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.12; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $525K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $144K · 11 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $226K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 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
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.