The Karen Wellington Memorial Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263768567
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5136292812
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cancer

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,170,673
Expenses
$1,348,547
Assets
$514,752
Liabilities
$33,118

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Katie Alsip Elbisser (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Katie Alsip Elbisser (Executive Director): $99,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We put fun on the calendars of women and families with breast cancer by sending them on special vacations, relaxing spa days, dinners out, concerts, and other fun-only activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

At KWF we work to put FUN on the calendars for women and families LIVING with breast cancer. From vacations to spa days, backstage passes and sporting events, trips to the zoo, and nights on the town, no single gift of FUN is the same. In 2024 alone, we gave over 1,119 total gifts which provided much needed respite and mental health breaks from breast cancer. As KWF increases giving, we will send about 100+ women on vacations, 300+ women to spas and other gifts of fun, and 700 Lemons to Lemonade FUN boxes. Approximately 75% of those gifts are in-kind donated experiences - including donated vacation home rentals, donated spa days gifts by various spas throughout the U.S., donated concert and sports tickets and more. In short, we leverage donations in putting KWF experiences together for KWF recipients. These experiences are designed to help women, who are actively battling breast cancer, live life to the fullest. 100 % of our recipients have stated that they have had to cancel plans due to treatment. The mental health benefits of having something good to look forward to have been proven to energize and renew them, encouraging them to stay positive during the darkest of times. KWFs mission is to give to all who are nominated and reach more women and families in the coming years. Around 30% of our gifts are the last experiences these families will have, which is why many families choose KWF as a beneficiary of their memorial funds. We call these gifts FUNds. Our list of FUNds keeps growing and while we are saddened at the loss of life, we are privileged to help families heal through paying it forward. Many of those families stay involved with KWF by helping us deliver FUN to others.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 68% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.4%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 98; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -15.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.4% of revenue deployed · 67.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 18 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $913K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.