Melanoma Research Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 760514428
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2023479675
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,413,825
- Expenses
- $6,905,774
- Assets
- $8,283,039
- Liabilities
- $3,344,115
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KYLEIGH LIPIRA (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- KYLEIGH LIPIRA (CEO): $352,495 total reported compensation
- JAMES MERRICK (CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER): $171,611 total reported compensation
- ELIZABETH REILLY SR DEVEL (OFFICER - ENDOWMENT & PLANNED GIVING): $139,873 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 mrf is the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma. Its mission is to eradicate melanoma by accelerating medical research while educating and advocating for the melanoma community.
What it reported doing in 2024
The mrf is committed to advancing a broad scientific agenda across the disciplines of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Although the mrf has achieved a number of important scientific milestones, much more work remains to be done. To this end, the mrf funds a spectrum of research grants, scientific initiatives, and programs for cutaneous melanoma and rarer melanoma subtypes (e.g. Ocular, pediatric, acral and mucosal melanoma). Its research grant program is a competitive, peer-reviewed research grant program for investigator-initiated research has been in existence since 1998. Mrf-supported research is open to medical students through senior investigative teams.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for 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: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 76
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.1%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 71.3%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Pass
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd 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; 16th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.1% of revenue deployed · 71.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $352K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $919K reported
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 14 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.