Penny's Flight Foundation

Legal name: Pennys Flight Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921211076
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Locust Valley, NY, US
Rating
47
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specifically Named Diseases Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,062,467
Expenses
$1,046,844
Assets
$2,444,907
Liabilities
$910

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Katherine Doerge (Director): $132,000 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 butterfly effect is a phenomenon in which a tiny event, like the flap of a butterfly's wings, can result in a profound and far-reaching shift of circumstance. Through Penny's story and bright light, the Penny's Flight Foundation aims to expand knowledge around NF, while inspiring others to find beauty in imperfection, positivity in the face of challenge, and faith over fear.

What it reported doing in 2024

Penny's Flight Foundation was started in December 2022. The nonprofit intends to use grants and donations to support is charitable mission by supporting research for Neurofibromatosis. The nonprofit sells merchandise and other personal property to bring awareness and help generate revenue in support of it's mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 23
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 19.4%; rating input score 19
  • Program expense ratio: 33.9%; rating input score 34
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 49.2%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.34; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 48.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 48.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 61.1% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 19.4% of revenue deployed · 33.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $355K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 19/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.