Lynne Cohen Foundation
Legal name: Lynne Cohen Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954668714
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8776827911
- Rating
- 46
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $505,744
- Expenses
- $502,847
- Assets
- $386,852
- Liabilities
- $20,503
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- AMY COHEN EPSTEIN (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DI)
Highest reported compensation
- AMY COHEN EPSTEIN (PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DI): $109,159 total reported compensation
- CHRISTINA CORD QUESTAD (DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT): $85,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Lynne Cohen Foundation's mission is to combat ovarian and breast cancer through preventive care, education, and community-building programs.
What it reported doing in 2024
The lynne cohen foundation supports a network of five preventive care programs, a consortium of physician scientists from prestigious cancer centers around the country, and a national data registry of high-risk patients, thus allowing numerous women access to state-of-the-art screening, prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancers. Since 1999, the foundation had funded $7,163,000 in research disbursements.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 75% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 45
- Transparency & Controls: 76
- Accountability: 10
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 46.9%; rating input score 47
- Program expense ratio: 46.9%; rating input score 47
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 48.2%; rating input score 48; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 38.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 46.9% of revenue deployed · 46.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $236K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $109K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 48/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.