SickKids Foundation

Legal name: Hospital for Sick Children Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
980183325
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Phone
Toronto 416-813-6166; Toll Free 1-800-661-1083
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$405,635,408
Expenses
$234,183,442
Assets
$1,659,486,206
Liabilities
$48,962,711

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

Leadership & pay

57 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jennifer Bernard (President & Chief Executive Officer)
  • Katherine Torrance (Vice President)
  • Mark Goldbloom (Vice President & Risk Officer)
  • Julie Garcia Sjogrim (Vice President)
  • Kieran Shanahan (Vice President)
  • Nancy Horvath (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jennifer Bernard (President & Chief Executive Officer): $819,108 total reported compensation
  • Emily Pang (Chief Operating Officer, Secretary): $561,322 total reported compensation
  • Heather Clark (Chief Marketing Officer): $518,957 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Precision Child Health (PCH) is the end of 'one-size-fits-all medicine'—SickKids focuses precisely on what makes each individual patient who they are, then harnesses cutting-edge science, technology, and data insights to diagnose faster, treat smarter (and help predict better). SickKids Foundation** : The mission of SickKids Foundation is to inspire our communities to invest in health and scientific advances to improve the lives of children and their families in Canada and around the world. The Foundation embraces the following core values that together are reflected in the way we work toward our mission, with each other, and our community. These values were developed by Foundation staff and adopted by the Foundation’s Board of Directors: Honesty and Integrity** : We commit to the highest standards of conduct and ethical practice in all of our endeavours.

What it reported doing in 2024

SickKids Foundation provides a critical source of funding to The Hospital for Sick Children. Through our annual grant to the Hospital, we support: SickKids Research Institute, covering case funding and supporting physicians and researchers who compete for research grants. Priorities identified by the Hospital, including clinical projects as well as the purchase of medical equipment. International projects identified by the Hospital, including the funding of international fellows to train at The Hospital for Sick Children. Training and education for the Hospital fellows, professorships, students, bursaries, conference attendance, lectureships, and awards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 99% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 49th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 42.3%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.09; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 70.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 36 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $165.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $819K · 57 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $16.3M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.