Spastic Paraplegia Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043594491
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- O Fallon, MO, USA
- Phone
- 8777734483
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Brain Disorders
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,742,632
- Expenses
- $1,418,562
- Assets
- $3,551,338
- Liabilities
- $1,334,190
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Greg Pruitt (President/Director)
- Jim Sheorn (Vice President/Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Linda Arnold (Fundraising and Relationship Development Manager): $65,000 total reported compensation
- Lorri Steiner (Treasurer): $61,400 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
1. To fund scientific research to discover the cures for hereditary spastic paraplegia and primary lateral sclerosis. 2. To provide information about the disorders to patients and their loved ones, and to the general public. 3. To provide emotional support to patients and their loved ones
What it reported doing in 2025
Scientific research grants are awarded to academic researchers in universities both in the United States and internationally. A Scientific Advisory Board generally reviews and ranks grant proposals received. The Foundation funds only the top ranked proposals using the same ranking criteria for each proposal. Grants are divided into up to five installments. The first installment is issued after a countersigned Research Grant Agreement is returned to the Foundation. Each of the remaining installments are issued after a satisfactory progress report or final report from the researcher. The amount above reflects the amount of grant expense in 2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 74.6%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $24.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Pass
- May require repayment: Fail
- 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: 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: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 18.6%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.5; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 74.6% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 49 of 50 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 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.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.