The Brain Tumor Network Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463339186
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA
Phone
8442866110
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Brain Disorders

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,530,806
Expenses
$3,195,348
Assets
$3,050,124
Liabilities
$89,819

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FREDERICK B SONTAG (PRESIDENT/BOARD MEMBER)

People named in this filing

  • FREDERICK B SONTAG (PRESIDENT/BOARD MEMBER)
  • DANIEL M RYAN (BOARD MEMBER)
  • KATHERINE W VERBLE (BOARD MEMBER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The brain tumor network (btn) is dedicated to providing compassionate, personalized navigation services to brain tumor patients and caregivers. Btn also assists patients in finding clinical trials that may be an appropriate match for them. Btn was launched in late 2014 by the sontag foundation in response to unmet navigation needs identified by individuals and family members of those diagnosed with primary brain tumors.

What it reported doing in 2025

Patient navigation services are the core program of the brain tumor network (btn). With the scarcity of personalized treatment information available to individuals in the USA diagnosed with primary brain tumors, btn provides important informational/navigation services to patients, caregivers, and care providers. Our team of nurse navigators and social workers respond to online requests and telephone inquiries to meet patients/families wherever they are in their brain tumor treatment journey, and to help them gather the information they need to explore their next steps with their healthcare providers. Btn navigated 1,404 patients nationwide during 2025. Services provided include: conducting personalized clinical trial searches, assistance ascertaining eligibility for participation in identified trials, facilitating second opinions and consultations, identifying specialty providers near patients' home communities, and obtaining and reviewing patient records. Btn does not provide medical advice, but does provide personalized treatment-related information to equip patients and family to enter into decision-making conversations with their healthcare professionals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 9.5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.