Sierra Veterans Research and Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880250268
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Reno, NV, USA
Phone
7753424324
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biomedicine, Bioengineering Research

Reported finances

Revenue
$205,658
Expenses
$252,855
Assets
$78,897
Liabilities
$4,413

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Thomas Talamante (Member Executive Director)
  • Danielle Eaton (Executive Director Chair)

Highest reported compensation

  • Yi Zheng (Member VA Chief of Education Svc): $297,485 total reported compensation
  • Joy Chesnut (Member VA Chief of Staff): $279,208 total reported compensation
  • Thomas Talamante (Member Executive Director): $170,458 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To support biomedical clinical research as well as health related educational activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Clinical trials for new treatments for cancer heart and lung disease arthritis diabetes and other medical conditions. Clinicians conducting these studies are testing and teaching others about new treatments for medical conditions that are problems for the VA as well as the general public

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 28
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -22.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.6%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $253K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $297K · 7 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.