Midwest Ear Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
480905027
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
8169321660
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Medical Research N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,350,113
Expenses
$1,807,289
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY NACHTIGAL (DIRECTOR, CFO): $467,001 total reported compensation
  • BRADLEY SIMMONS (DIRECTOR TERM ENDED 6/2016): $344,762 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The midwest ear institute is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life by restoring hearing. We accomplish this by evaluating and treating patients and by our involvement in clinical research projects. Through our work, we relieve the isolation and misunderstanding caused by hearing loss and other ear-related disorders by educating patients, their families, and professionals in the field.

What it reported doing in 2016

A. Cochlear implants - the cochlear implant is a bio-electronic device that provides hearing to totally deaf adults and children. Mei completed 119 cochlear implants and provided more than 1,700 activation, reprogramming and auditory rehabilitation services for ci patients. B. Vestibular/balance disorders - mei performed more than 180 diagnostic tests for patients referred for balance problems. Tests include platform posturography, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and videonystagmography. C. Audiological testing - mei performs routine and specialized audiometric testing for referred patients. Mei performed more than 3,000 tests including auditory brainstem evoked response, electrochocleography, optoacoustic emission testing and direct nerve monitoring in surgery. D. Hearing AIDS - mei fitted nearly 400 hearing AIDS in 2016. E. Tinnitus evaluation - mei evaluated more than 35 patients for tinnitus, which is a sound that one hears which is not actually present in the environment. F. Auditory processing disorders - this program focuses on weekly therapy sessions for those who are able to hear, but have a problem processing or understanding what they hear, especially in background noise. Mei provided nearly 200 evaluation and therapy services to apd patients in 2016. G. Educational programs - mei audiologists provided multiple educational/training courses for doctors, allied health professionals and other community groups regarding apd, hearing evaluation and therapy and cochlear implant services and clinical studies. H. Community hearing screenings - mei audiologists conducted multiple employer and school hearing screenings.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: -33.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $467K · 21 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2010 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 30 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.