The Dr Robert F Thomas Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581537582
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Knoxville, TN, USA
Phone
8653745329
Rating
48
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$582,343
Expenses
$355,258
Assets
$7,808,857
Liabilities
$5,688,811

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Aaron M Burns (LeConte President & CAO)
  • James D VanderSteeg (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • James D VanderSteeg (President & CEO): $3,242,830 total reported compensation
  • Aaron M Burns (LeConte President & CAO): $362,166 total reported compensation
  • William R Bryant Jr (VP and Chief Philanthrophy Officer): $321,644 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation raises funds, and administers and distributes charitable support to LeConte Medical Center in support of the hospital's mission to improve the quality of life in our community through better health.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Foundation supports a variety of other programs and services at LeConte Medical Center. In 2024, those additional distributions included: Through the Paint the Mountains Pink campaign, the Foundation provided funding for free screening mammograms for uninsured/underinsured women and for breast health education materials used throughout our community to educate hundreds of people about the importance of mammography screenings.The Foundation also funded the purchase of patient education materials for LeConte Medical Center patients recovering from strokes.Additionally, several clinical staff selected by the medical staff leadership at LeConte Medical Center received funding from the Foundation to complete advanced clinical education/certification.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 13
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 11.9%; rating input score 12
  • Program expense ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 15
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th 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: 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 39%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 21.98; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 141.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 11.9% of revenue deployed · 14.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $53K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3.2M · 18 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 30 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 12/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.