Ronald Mcdonald House Madison Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391655790
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082324660
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Patient Services - Entertainment, Recreation

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,332,558
Expenses
$3,027,705
Assets
$17,351,706
Liabilities
$135,520

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN FLAD (PRESIDENT)
  • BRAD ARMSTRONG (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • JASON SPEICH (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • STEPHANIE HAYDEN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHANIE HAYDEN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $190,080 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ronald mcdonald house madison, inc. Provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare.

What it reported doing in 2025

House operations -- the organization owns and operates the 31-bedroom, 46,000 square foot ronald mcdonald house in madison, Wisconsin. The house is located within walking distance of the american family children's hospital and a free shuttle service, operated with volunteer drivers, is provided to and from all madison area hospitals and affiliated clinics. Families of seriously ill or injured children may stay in the house for free. Families are asked if they want to give a $10 per night suggested donation but it is not required. In addition to a room, the families are provided food, laundry facilities, and all the comforts of home. The house is staffed 24 hours per day and operates 365 days a year under the management of a small full-time and part-time staff of 21 and 318 volunteers. In 2025, 1,160 families were guests of the house with an average stay of 11 nights, resulting in a 121% capacity. This is possible due to the partnership of local hotels who provide rooms at a significant discount, paid for by rmh madison.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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.
  • 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 68.4%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 9.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.73; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 68.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.