Morris Animal Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
846032307
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3037902345
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,312,374
Expenses
$16,642,178
Assets
$123,345,905
Liabilities
$10,482,107

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • IKE NICOLL (CEO (FROM JUNE '25))
  • RYAN WELCH (INTERIM CEO (THRU MAY '25))

Highest reported compensation

  • RYAN WELCH (INTERIM CEO (THRU MAY '25)): $407,363 total reported compensation
  • KATHY TIETJE (CPO (THRU OCT '24)): $228,868 total reported compensation
  • RYAN MCVEIGH (SENIOR DATABASE & SOFTWARE DEVELOPER): $177,492 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Morris animal foundation's (the foundation's) mission is to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals. Since the foundation's founding in 1948, more than 20,000 species have been helped through scientific studies and the development of new treatments, diagnostic tools, and vaccines.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program awareness: the foundations mission is to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals. Raising awareness about the foundations programs and impact is a component to fulfilling the mission. Program awareness efforts also support the foundations golden retriever lifetime study, the largest and longest study ever undertaken in the united states to understand cancer in dogs. Annual campaigns aim to generate awareness and support for critical animal health issues such as the stop cancer furever campaign and inspiring donations for fund prevention and treatment. The foundation also distributes ongoing animal health information to supporters and the general public through direct mail, quarterly newsletters, social media, public relations and a range of digital contact including a website that houses resources for all aforementioned efforts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 40% for direct work, and 60% 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: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 43rd 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: 3.9%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.41; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.4% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $11.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $407K · 26 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $787K reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 31 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.