International Society for Contact Lens Research
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 431427411
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- St Louis, MO, USA
- Phone
- 3145693333
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Eye Diseases, Blindness & Vision Impairments Research
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $303,119
- Expenses
- $376,725
- Assets
- $446,562
- Liabilities
- $26,510
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NATHAN EFRON (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- LORETTA SZCZOTKA-FLYNN (VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE)
- DARLENE DARTT (PRESIDENT)
- CRAIG WOODS (PRESIDENT ELECT)
- CAROL LAKKIS (VICE PRESIDENT)
- LYNDON JONES (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- ALEX HUI (SECRETARY)
- NATHAN EFRON (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- LORETTA SZCZOTKA-FLYNN (VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE)
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
The international society for contact lens research is a group who exchanges knowledge in contact lenses and allied sciences to encourage scientific research and educational advancements.
What it reported doing in 2024
Biennial scientific symposia: a formal meeting of global experts from all aspects of contact lens research. Members discuss recent developments, address key challenges and identify future research needs to advance the field and industry.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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
SUPPORTED - 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: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 51
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 97.1%; rating input score 97
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 19th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -24.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 35.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $366K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 21 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.