Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581966822
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Winston Salem, NC, USA
Phone
8002536530
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Brain Disorders Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,848,026
Expenses
$6,133,132
Assets
$2,864,550
Liabilities
$1,003,475

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Courtney Davies (CEO/President Through Sept 2024)

Highest reported compensation

  • Courtney Davies (CEO/President Through Sept 2024): $341,249 total reported compensation
  • Alyson Levine (Chief Development Officer): $200,924 total reported compensation
  • Geoff Still (CFO/COO): $197,311 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Vision A world without childhood brain tumors. Mission Care. Cure. Thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation funded research by leading experts across many institutions including Joelle Straehla at Seattle Childrens Hospital, Drs. Paul Northcott and Ching Lau at the Brain Tumor Funders Collective, Dr. David H. Gutmann and team at Washington University School of Medicine, Drs. Bandopadhayay and Beroukhim as well as Dr. Ligon at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Drs. Castro and Lowestein as well as Dr. Koschmann at the University of Michigan. PBTF also funded a Pediatric Statistical report led by Dr. Quinn Ostrom Risch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University at the Central Brain Tumor Repository of the United States. The Foundation played a critical role in establishing a Pediatric Neurology Oncology Journal led by Dr. Sabine Mueller. PBTF served 3,694 families through critical guidance, assistance with accessing care, and financial aid. PBTF also made policy impacts at the state and federal level through a network of 2,251 advocates. This work was made possible due in part to the addition of 6,718 new donors, a 13 increase in donors from last year.

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 75% for direct work, and 25% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 75.3%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.9%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.2% of revenue deployed · 75.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $341K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $508K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.