Lung Cancer Foundation of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208730839
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
5073541361
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,800,681
Expenses
$2,145,537
Assets
$2,516,803
Liabilities
$355,899

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JIM BARANSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • KIM NORRIS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JIM BARANSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $214,770 total reported compensation
  • KIM NORRIS (PRESIDENT): $111,353 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Lung cancer foundation of america (lcfa) is working to change the public perception of lung cancer through education and personal stories about lung cancer and to improve patient outcomes through funding impactful research.

What it reported doing in 2025

Awareness initiatives, speakers bureau, fundraising success, & collaborative partnerships: awareness initiatives: reached millions of people through comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns, educating the public about lung cancer risk factors, early detection, and treatment options.scientific advancements: supported research that contributed to significant progress in personalized treatment strategies, including advancements in targeted therapies and immunotherapy for both non-small cell lung cancer (nsclc) and small cell lung cancer (sclc). Fundraising success: successfully raised funds to support ongoing research initiatives and awareness programs, demonstrating strong donor engagement and financial stewardship. Collaborative partnerships: strengthened partnerships with sister organizations to maximize the impact of research funding and advocacy efforts. Through these accomplishments, lcfa has continued to make significant strides in improving lung cancer outcomes and supporting the lung cancer community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.4%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.17; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.7% of revenue deployed · 90.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $215K · 14 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $713K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.