Flagella Vision Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931699094
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6785929024
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Eye Diseases, Blindness & Vision Impairments Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$302,839
Expenses
$200,000
Assets
$232,239
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAURIN PATEL (CEO)
  • PRIYANK CONNOR (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SAURIN PATEL (CEO)
  • PRIYANK CONNOR (PRESIDENT)
  • ELIJAY CONNOR (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

To make positive impact on the lives of individuals suffering from blindness due to rare ciliary retinal disease. Flagvella is committed to accelerating life changing outcomes by advancing research and advocating for individuals and families facing the challenges associated with retinal disease. Flagella is committed to drive the research that will lead to treatments and cures for blinding retinal ciliopathies and build advocating communities of support.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation has pledged to fund seongjin seo, phd, at the university fo Iowa institute for vision research, as his lab studies the viability of gene therapy to treat blindness caused by ift140 retinal gene mutations.the foundation strives to support dr. Seo's research in order to develop gene therapy for retinal degeneration caused by ift140 gene mutations. An initial study completed by dr. Seo in 2023, showed that gene therapy rescued degenerating rods and cones in a knock out mouse model of condition.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.4%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 56.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $200K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.