Sage Bionetworks

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264489946
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2069288250
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biological & Life Sciences

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,549,384
Expenses
$24,705,667
Assets
$8,199,571
Liabilities
$4,769,009

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LUCA FOSCHINI (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LUCA FOSCHINI (PRESIDENT & CEO): $423,874 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLY BAGGETT (COO, CFO AND SECRETARY): $369,588 total reported compensation
  • BRUCE HOFF (TECHNICAL DIRECTOR IT): $241,393 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Sage bionetworks is on a mission to drive a new age of discovery through truly open science and radical collaboration. We aim to create a world where silos within and across science and technology no longer exist, forging a path to optimal human health.

What it reported doing in 2024

Data coordination & sharing - in 2024 sage bionetworks expanded access to biomedical data, increasing average monthly synapse users by 20% and had over 33,000 unique users downloading data (+32%). Key highlights included the launch of the aacr project genie portal, which centralizes cancer datasets from 19 centers and nearly 200,000 sequenced samples across 111 cancer types with real-time release updates. The amp-als initiative selected sage to build an als knowledge portal modeled on the alzheimer's portal. Sage also entered into a partnership with the alzheimer's disease data initiative to link the ad workbench with the ad knowledge portal, creating a unified ecosystem to accelerate effective treatments and cures for alzheimer's disease.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $164.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.9% of revenue deployed · 91.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $22.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $424K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.9M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 17 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.