Lustgarten Foundation
Legal name: Marc Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311611837
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Uniondale, NY, US
- Phone
- 866-789-1000
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $37,190,710
- Expenses
- $27,180,092
- Assets
- $91,535,774
- Liabilities
- $12,507,342
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LINDA TANTAWI (CEO)
- KERRI KAPLAN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- LINDA TANTAWI (CEO): $528,783 total reported compensation
- KERRI KAPLAN (PRESIDENT): $382,905 total reported compensation
- FAISAL JAWAID (CFO): $328,282 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To fund research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer and to provide information and support to patients and their families.
What it reported doing in 2024
Public education and information program: the lustgarten foundation is the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world, funding preeminent pancreatic cancer researchers, driving the pursuit of bold and innovative science toward earlier detection and better treatments, and transforming pancreatic cancer into a curable disease. The foundation funds research where creative risks yield high rewards to accelerate and expand life-saving treatment options. We believe time is everything to patients and their families, and that community is power. Lustgarten programs and events provide people affected by pancreatic cancer a voice and a place to create hope, together. See schedule o.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 83% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 76
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 75
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.5%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Pass
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 26.9%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.37; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 61.5% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $21.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $529K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 28 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 20 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.