Team Gleason Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

Helping deliver leading edge equipment, services and technology, the Team Gleason Foundation provides ALS patients with the tools to allow people living with ALS to communicate, interact, and live with purpose. Technology and equipment have advanced over the past decade but these services can be taken even further. The Foundation works with creative companies to develop voice creation and hands-free software and technology.The Foundation maintains contact with ALS families receiving specialized equipment and recycles the equipment to new patients when the equipment is no longer needed. Portable Power Wheelchairs (PPWCs) represent freedom, enabling individuals with ALS to travel, attend life events, visit loved ones, and experience their favorite walking trailsplaces they never thought theyd see again. Due to the significant impact PPWCs had on 2024, Team Gleason swiftly responded by creating the PPWC Refurbishment Program. When PPWCs are no longer in use, they are returned to Team Gleason, then sanitized, tested, and shipped out to another member of the community. In its first year, the program has saved over $200,000, with more than 180 chairs returned.In collaboration with Microsoft, Team Gleason piloted the Custom Neural Voice technology, enabling individuals with ALS to create personalized, natural-sounding synthetic voices. This initiative was showcased at Microsofts Ability Summit 2024, emphasizing the role of AI in advancing accessibility and personalized communication solutions.Team Gleason expanded its collaboration with Synchron to raise awareness and advance brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The partnership focuses on promoting Synchrons endovascular BCI system, which aims to restore communication and mobility for individuals with ALS without the need for invasive brain surgery.Team Gleason contributed to the Speech Accessibility Project, a research initiative funded by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. The project aims to improve voice recognition technology for individuals with diverse speech patterns and disabilities, enhancing the inclusivity and effectiveness of speech-based AI systems.Partnering with Google Research, Team Gleason co-developed SpeakFaster, an innovative interface leveraging large language models to expedite eye-gaze typing for individuals with ALS. Published in Nature Communications, the system demonstrated a 57% reduction in motor actions required for text entry compared to traditional predictive keyboards, highlighting its potential to enhance communication efficiency for users with severe motor impairments.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.9%; rating input score 75
• Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • 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: 11.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings