HJF

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521317896
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Bethesda, MD, United States
Phone
240-694-2000
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$616,261,455
Expenses
$611,666,463
Assets
$301,373,575
Liabilities
$124,154,146

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH CARAVALHO JR MD (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • RODNEY R SWEETLAND (PRESIDENT - CAMRIS)
  • ANDREA STAHL (VICE PRESIDENT USU OPERATIONS)
  • THE HONORABLE JOHN WOODSON MD MG (PRESIDENT USUHS - EX OFFICIO DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH CARAVALHO JR MD (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $859,852 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH FOLK (EVP & COO): $570,672 total reported compensation
  • COREY HASTINGS (SVP, TREASURER AND CFO): $501,282 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We are uniquely authorized by Congress with the singular mission to accelerate advances in military medicine. | | A wholly-owned subsidiary of HJF, HJF Medical Research International (link is external)")(HJFMRI) conducts medical research in more than a dozen countries. HJFMRI provides a wide range of services that facilitate basic research, scientific trials, clinical care, training, capacity-building, facility management and more. From mentoring small entities to managing large consortiums, we partner with the medical community, academia and private industry to pursue the most advanced research. | | --- | --- | | |.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research administration expenses: as a trusted partner with military medical researchers, important hjf accomplishments include attracting, managing, and retaining highly qualified scientific staff to support the priorities of u.s. Military medicine. Whether it is the senior scientist to lead major initiatives and work collaboratively with u.s. Government scientists, or lab techs to perform ongoing research functions, hjf hires the best and brightest talent to accelerate innovations necessary to advance military medicine. In fy2025, hjf played an even larger role in convening and connecting the military, industry, academia, and government by hosting leadership fora and other key dod medicine meetings, with governmental and non-governmental thought leaders, to collaboratively identify challenges and posit military medicine solutions. Additionally, in fy2025 hjf began construction of hjf innovation labs @ montgomerycountymd (hil), as part of the hjf innovation ecosystem initiative. Designed to serve as a unique regional biotech incubator, this new facility is designed to specifically address the challenges faced by growing startups and small companies. The primary focus of the hil is to accelerate the availability of relevant medical products and services to our nation's warfighters, veterans, and civilians. Hjf aims to assist biotech and medical device startups surmount financial constraints and navigate the ins and outs of dual use military medical technology development. Hjf supported programs: uniformed services university (usu) brain tissue repository: hjf was selected to receive a charitable gift from retired admiral william mcraven, as part of a $50 million 2024 bezos courage and civility award. For this award, retired admiral mcraven chose to support one of the world's leading experts on traumatic brain injury (tbi) in military personnel: daniel perl, m.d., frsm. Dr. Perl is the director of the department of war/uniformed services university brain tissue repository and professor of pathology (neuropathology) at usu where he has been conducting tbi research for 15 years. This new project, titled, "unveiling cellular mechanisms of blast-induced tbi through advanced spatial genomics," will investigate "interface astroglial scarring," a specific pattern of brain damage he first identified in blast-exposed service members. The u.s. Military HIV research program (mhrp): mhrp, the walter reed army institute of research (wrair), hjf, and partners completed enrollment in a phase 1 human trial in tanzania to evaluate the safety and antiviral activity of a long-acting bispecific antibody, alone and in combination with another potent monoclonal antibody (mab), to combat HIV. The trial is also exploring fixed dosing and the safety of intramuscular injection to deliver these mabs, important advantages for future potential use in remote or military settings where medical infrastructure may be limited. These mabs may be used in geographies strategic to the u.s. Military where HIV is highly endemic, including expansion to the indo-pacific command region. Mhrp's long-time collaborator, tanzania's national institute for medical research - mbeya medical research center, is conducting the study, called rv584. Walter reed national military medical center (wrnmmc): hjf received funding through a grant from wounded warrior project(r) (wwp) to support the work of the 7 east brain injury medicine/neuropsychiatry program at wrnmmc. The program treats brain injuries of all severities, from mild concussive injuries to severe injuries requiring surgery, combining medical, surgical, and behavioral health care to address the full spectrum of complications from traumatic brain injury. In fy2025, hjf managed more than 800 awards, grants, agreements, or contracts, more than 1,500 active clinical studies (human and animal protocols), and more than 50 active license agreements. Hjf has more than 2,900 teammates at sites on four continents.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 85% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 59
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $833.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 0.7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 98.3% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $597.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $860K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $34.2M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.