The Chest Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363286520
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Glenview, IL, USA
Phone
2245219800
Rating
45
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$161,080
Expenses
$55,494
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The CHEST Foundation champions lung health by supporting clinical research, community service and patient education. On April 24, 2023, the American College of Chest Physician's Board of Regents voted to merge The Chest Foundation into the American College of Chest Physicians effective June 1, 2023.

What it reported doing in 2022

The chest foundation develops, often with patient advocacy partners, high quality peer-reviewed patient education materials and tools across more than 60 lung health topics. The foundation disseminates those materials to patients, caregivers, the general public, as well as members of chest. Dissemination and awareness of high-quality materials are delivered via chest's communication channels, social and new media, the foundation's website, topic-specific micro-sites, patient-facing partner organizations, and other external channels and partners that reach clinicians, patients, caregivers and the public. In addition, the foundation has developed national, comprehensive, multi-channel disease specific campaigns that focus on lung health barriers and areas of interest that reach patients, their families, and their healthcare providers. Information developed and disseminated in the campaign, often in coalition with other organizations, may range from causes, symptoms, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and tools that meet the needs of patients, caregivers and clinicians. Typical lung conditions covered are: asthma, copd, lung cancer, pulmonary arterial hypertension and interstitial lung disease (like pulmonary fibrosis). Through these patient-and-clinician focused projects and campaigns, the foundation is providing information and tools that empower a community of patients and caregivers to more effectively communicate with healthcare providers, make more informed decisions about their health, and participate more fully in managing their disease or condition.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 12
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 4%; rating input score 4
  • Program expense ratio: 14%; rating input score 14
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: 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: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 65.5%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 55.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 4% of revenue deployed · 14% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $8K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 4/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.