Friend for Life a Cancer Support Network Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611139410
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Phone
5028930643
Rating
97
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$135,553
Expenses
$144,228
Assets
$139,367
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kristen Mellinger (Board President)
  • Judy Kasey-Houlette (Executive Director)
  • Jason Howard (Member/Past President)

People named in this filing

  • Kristen Mellinger (Board President)
  • Mary Dickman (Board Treasurer)
  • Judy Kasey-Houlette (Executive 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-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Friend for Life volunteers are cancer survivors and caregivers who are trained by healthcare professionals to prepare them to support others as they confront the emotional, psychological, and practical uncertainties posed by a cancer diagnosis. We refer to our volunteers as Peer Navigators. Callers are matched with Peer Navigators by diagnosis and course of treatment and, to the extent possible, by age and gender. No other organization in the area offers this form of one-on-one support for all types of cancer.

What it reported doing in 2024

At the end of fiscal year 2024, Friend for Life Peer Navigators numbered over 410. They range in age at diagnosis from 6 to 86 and represent survival of a wide range of cancer types. We responded to over 1,400 support requests and matched over 600 individuals. Volunteers donated over 5,000 hours, spoke with over 100 students and their faculty mentors at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and students of Osteopathic Medicine in Pikeville, Kentucky

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $144K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.