Relapsing Polychondritis Awareness and Support Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462458916
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Marquette, MI, USA
Phone
9062251166
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$693,706
Expenses
$691,103
Assets
$744,617
Liabilities
$2,853

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID BAMMERT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID BAMMERT (PRESIDENT): $100,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The rp foundation's mission is to: (a) increase awareness about relapsing polychondritis; (b) provide support (primarily through the use of the internet, social media, and patient advocacy programs) for those who are affected by relapsing polychondritis, support research to advance a cure for relapsing polychondritis; (c) promote quality care for relapsing polychondritis patients; and (d) engage in such other activities in connection therewith that the board of directors may authorize, in all cases subject to the provision of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenu code of 1986, as amended, or the corresponding provisions of any subsequent federal tax law (the "code").

What it reported doing in 2025

Research: the rp foundation's investments in rp and related autoimmune disease research accelerated significant progress in fy26, advancing understanding of disease biology, clinical outcomes, and treatment while expanding access to specialized care. Through foundation support, the penn rp program, now among the largest centers in the world dedicated to rp research and care, served more than 150 patients and enrolled nearly all eligible patients into the vasculitis clinical research consortium (vcrc) longitudinal study, creating an unparalleled clinical and biospecimen repository for ongoing scientific discovery. A major milestone was the launch of prospect-rp, the first-ever clinical trial for relapsing polychondritis. The study evaluates two promising immunomodulatory therapies identified through longitudinal cohort research and is generating critical data on treatment effectiveness while helping establish clinical trial methodologies for future rp studies. Researchers are also comparing multiple disease activity measurement tools, including the rp disease activity index (rpdai), to determine the most effective way to assess disease activity in future therapeutic trials. The program further expanded the radar immune-profiling study to more than 400 patient samples collected across multiple time points, creating a unique resource for identifying disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets that may ultimately support precision medicine approaches for rp. The foundation also helped strengthen national and international research collaborations, including ongoing partnership with the national institutes of health and new collaborations with leading rheumatology researchers in beijing, china, to expand participation in both the longitudinal study and prospect-rp. In addition, support for emerging investigators helped build future rp research capacity. Scientific findings from foundation-supported research continued to gain international recognition, including studies presented at a major international vasculitis conference examining ocular involvement as a predictor of disease progression and evaluating the performance of the rp disease activity index in measuring patient disease activity. The year also marked the successful launch of the first penn rp center patient education meeting, which brought together more than 150 patients, caregivers, and clinicians to advance education, engagement, and community building. The purpose biobank and data repository at the allegheny health network autoimmunity institute continued to grow in ay26, enrolling a total of 120 participants from 24 states and puerto rico, including 73 patients with rp. Since it launched in 2024, the ahn purpose biobank has banked 99 blood specimens, which are being stored for future rp and related autoimmune disease research.

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 73% for direct work, and 27% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.3% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $561K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $200K reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.