Schepens Eye Research Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042129889
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6179120100
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Health Systems

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,772,720
Expenses
$28,869,943
Assets
$81,562,366
Liabilities
$64,399,539

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN FERNANDEZ (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN FERNANDEZ (PRESIDENT): $1,372,817 total reported compensation
  • JOAN W MILLER MD (DIRECTOR): $1,052,983 total reported compensation
  • CAROLANN WILLIAMS (CFO AND VP FINANCE & ADMIN): $510,992 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2017

The Institute has research at every stage of development from the critical new ideas that are changing the way researchers around the world look at the future of treatment, to products in late-stage clinical trials, set to make an immediate impact on the lives of people struggling with vision-robbing diseases and injuries. The Institute has made tremendous progress in developing new cures for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, other types of retinal and optic nerve degenerations and damage, dry eye and eye tissue transplants. There have also been great strides made in the development of new technologies - new lenses and devices - to help those with low vision make the absolute most out of the vision they have until we can reverse vision loss.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 72% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 78.6%; rating input score 79; 16th 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: Fail
    • 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: -0.3%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.83; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.79; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 70.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $20.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 33 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2009 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 22 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.