Health Forward Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 200167282
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Kansas City, MO, USA
- Phone
- 8162417006
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Health - General and Rehabilitative N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $45,105,484
- Expenses
- $51,303,039
- Assets
- $944,651,494
- Liabilities
- $15,551,809
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- QIANA THOMASON (PRESIDENT/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- QIANA THOMASON (PRESIDENT/CEO): $616,697 total reported compensation
- CHRISTIE ZARKOVICH (CAFIO/ASST TREASURER): $489,388 total reported compensation
- MCCLAIN BRYANT MACKLIN (VP OF POLICY & IMPACT/ASST SECRETARY): $310,533 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Achieve health equity and secure a fair and just region through leadership, advocacy, and resources.
What it reported doing in 2024
Four purpose areas: health forward's new purpose areas include: people, which seeks to center equity and remove barriers in the health care system; power, which focuses on advancing civic engagement, amplifying community-driven movements, and supporting community-based nonprofits; place, which focuses on two influential social factors: housing and digital access; and platform, which focuses on advancing racial equity and economic inclusion in systems, policies and stories.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Investment-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 94.8%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -13.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.41; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $38M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $617K · 29 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 179 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 170 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.