The Dyslexia Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043040415
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
2032542044
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$362,979
Expenses
$208,255
Assets
$786,683
Liabilities
$25,293

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Benjamin Powers (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Benjamin Powers (President): $57,600 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote scientific breakthroughs in the early detection, prevention and remediation of dyslexia and related reading difficulties. To disseminate new findings and deploy new evidence- based approaches. To prevent the suffering caused by reading failure and unlock the full potential of children and adults with dyslexia so that they may personally succeed and contribute to society.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization hosts conferences devoted exclusively to educational, medical, and cognitive research of the causes and remediation of dyslexia. The organization has several ongoing programs including, the extraordinary brain series symposia, that occurs biennially and allows renowned researchers to come together to discuss, dissect, and reassemble a cutting-edge topic within the neuroscience, cognitive science, and education research related to reading and dyslexia. The next scheduled symposium will specifically address dyslexia identification and approaches to instruction for poor and minority children with reading difficulties.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.6%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5,052.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 42.6%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.78; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.6% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $174K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.