Hospital for Special Surgery
Legal name: The Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 136714749
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, US
- Phone
- 212.606.1196
- Rating
- 56
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $34,292,189
- Expenses
- $20,172,666
- Assets
- $158,548,598
- Liabilities
- $37,857,905
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
58 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Bryan T Kelly (President & CEO)
- Louis A Shapiro-Thru 2023 (Former President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Bryan T Kelly (President & CEO): $5,329,588 total reported compensation
- Louis A Shapiro-Thru 2023 (Former President & CEO): $3,428,637 total reported compensation
- Stacey L Malakoff (EVP & Chief Financial Officer): $2,964,817 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
HSS is the world’s leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization's exempt purpose is to raise funds to support charitable, educational, and scientific purposes of its tax exempt affiliate, the hospital for special surgery, and any other health care related charitable organizations. The hospital for special surgery provides world class care to its patients by helping them regain their mobility, while also advancing research initiatives to explore new treatments for orthopedic and rheumatologic conditions. The hospital for special surgery is recognized for its excellence in patient care and is consistently top-ranked by us news and world reports in its specialties. The hospital for special surgery is also recognized as a magnet hospital for excellence in nursing service. In 2024, hss fund inc. Provided services to the hospital enabling it to raise approximately $71 million in funds for capital, research, endowment, educational and operating purposes. In 2024, hss fund inc. Also contributed approximately $113,800 to other charitable organizations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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: 14
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 76
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 10.8%; rating input score 11
- Program expense ratio: 23.7%; rating input score 24
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 91.8%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 41.2%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.86; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 5 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 10.8% of revenue deployed · 23.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 45 of 49 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $5.3M · 58 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 18 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 11/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 24/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.