Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141872081
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8059627466
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Patient Services - Entertainment, Recreation

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,648,669
Expenses
$2,058,691
Assets
$1,819,346
Liabilities
$105,192

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Corey Pahanish (Executive Director)
  • Brittany Avila-Wazny (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Corey Pahanish (Executive Director): $158,716 total reported compensation
  • Brittany Avila-Wazny (Executive Director): $142,512 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides financial and emotional support to families of children who have cancer living in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 PROGRAM STATS1. In 2024, TBCF served a total of 186 families, 807 individuals with all our programs.2. In 2024, TBCF served a total of 88 families, 373 individuals with our Financial Stability programs.3. In 2024, TBCF served a total of 11 families, 71 individuals with our Educational Advocacy programs.4. In 2024, TBCF served a total of 174 families, 761 individuals, with our Emotional Support programs.Context for Lower Numbers in 2024 In reviewing the differences between 2023 and 2024, several key factors contributed to the lower overall numbers in 2024 compared to the previous year. Transition to In-Person Events: In 2023, TBCF provided Care Baskets for Mother's Day and Father's Day, which allowed us to reach a broader number of families. This approach was flexible and inclusive, as it did not require in-person participation. In 2024, we shifted to in-person events, including Mothers Spa Day and Fathers BBQ Day. While these events created meaningful experiences for families, they were limited in capacity, reducing the overall number of families we could invite and serve. Changes in Holiday Toy Distribution: In 2023, we partnered with VCMC to provide toys for their Holiday Party, which gave us a list of approximately 20 families to serve. This partnership added to our reach and helped boost our emotional support program numbers. In 2024, VCMC did not require toys for their holiday party, which reduced the number of families we could engage during the holiday season. Careful Review of Partnering Hospital Outreach: Historically, any extra toys from our holiday programs were distributed to partnering hospitals, further increasing the number of families served. After careful review in 2024, we recognized that some of these families were hematology families, which increased our overall numbers in prior years. Adjustments were made to ensure we served pediatric families of children with cancer moving forward. FINANCIAL STABILITY PROGRAMIN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY (ACS), STARFISH CONNECTION and KAIND.1. With the support of $30,000 from ACS, we were able to provide 63 one-way rides to 11 families in transportation funds and 104 nights to 13 families in lodging funds.2. Through our partnership with Starfish Connection, we supported 10 families with bill payments, food assistance, and essential living needs.3. Through a meaningful partnership, KaIND Giving & RAKlife contributed $2,500 to our Bear Necessities program to specifically assist with transportation needs for Ventura County families with a child in cancer treatment. In addition to their funding, they committed to volunteering, activating community-wide support, and raising awareness for these families. This support ensured that families could get to and from treatment without the added stress of transportation costs.4. Overall, we were able to serve 53 families, 218 individuals with our Bear Necessities program.EDUCATIONAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM1. In 2024, we served 7 families with tutoring in partnership with Grade Potential tutoring agency.EMOTIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM1. FAMILY COUNSELING GROUPS: A. We served 56 families, 244 individuals with our virtual family counseling groups (English Parent, Spanish Parent, Teen, and Kids).2. INDIVIDUAL & COUPLES COUNSELING W/ FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY (FSA)A. In partnership with FSA to provide individual and couples counseling to our families, we were able to provide 80 sessions of counseling to 7 families.3. FAMILY CONNECTION EVENTSWe fully reinstated in-person Family Connection Events for the first time since 2019 and added new ones. A total of 76 families and 339 individuals participated.We participated in our 2nd childrens fiesta parade in Santa Barbara. We invited a few of our families to join our team to participate in the parade. Santa Barbara trolley company once again was able to kindly donate surreys.A.Teen Event at Santa Barbara Salt Cave: We participated in our first Family Connection Event of the year for Teddy Bear

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 57% for direct work, and 43% for 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd 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: 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: -24.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.6%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $159K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.