Mission: The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) is the national organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma as a life-ending disease by: fundin ... (More)
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 2000, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Contact Information
1615 L Street NW
Suite 430
Washington DC 20036
Important note on the timeliness of ratings
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Good
This charity's score is 88.48, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 83.71 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 100.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
80.5%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
6.9%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
12.4%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
8.7%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.16
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
1.56 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
-16.20%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
| |
| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Mary Hesdorffer, Executive Director
$168,235 (13.67% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
The pandemic has curtailed our ability to raise funds through events, including third-party fundraisers. We have been very lucky that several visionary individuals and families have stepped in to provide supplemental during the last two years. We also were not able to host our annual scientific meeting and patient conference, which is a major revenue-generating event for the Foundation. We canceled our event in in early 2020, and so have gone three years without this critical revenue event.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
All of our programmings shifted to an online footing, we canceled our annual scientific meeting and patient conference, and moved our patient education programs to webinars.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Shifting most of our programming to online has benefited our patient community, for the most part; however, the "growing pains" have come at a cost. Our staff members have had to gain new technology skills, and by hosting our patient programs online, many of our patients, family members, and caregivers have had to learn the same new technology. We also moved our staff to a "mostly virtual" footing in which only one person goes into our office each week in order to reduce the spread of the virus. This helped us discern that moving to a fully-virtual platform in 2023 was feasible and economically responsible.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We're taking our organization entirely virtual in 2023, thanks to the time we've had over the last two years, to determine the best way forward. We are now working with our partners, vendors, community, and volunteers to make this happen thoughtfully and responsibly.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 7/1/2021 | 2019 | 88.48 | |
| 5/1/2020 | 2018 | 85.08 | |
| 12/20/2019 | 2017 | 89.49 | |
| 4/1/2019 | 2017 | 89.12 | |
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
| 6/1/2018 | 2016 | 89.70 | |
| 5/1/2017 | 2015 | 90.88 |  |
| 6/1/2016 | 2014 | 90.79 | |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 12/22/2015 | 2014 | 86.74 | |
| 6/1/2015 | 2013 | 96.96 | |
| 12/20/2013 | 2012 | 93.43 | |
| 5/1/2013 | 2011 | 93.26 | |
| 4/1/2012 | 2010 | 82.18 | |
| 9/20/2011 | 2009 | 82.54 | |
| Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
| 6/1/2011 | 2009 | 79.12 |  |
| 7/1/2010 | 2008 | 75.54 | |
| 5/1/2009 | 2007 | 93.80 | |
| 6/1/2008 | 2006 | 99.28 | |
| 4/1/2007 | 2005 | 99.35 | |
| 7/1/2006 | 2004 | 97.02 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
$705,501
Spent in most recent FY
71%
Percent of program expenses
Education Support and Symposium
$262,154
Spent in most recent FY
26%
Percent of program expenses
Research Grant Program
$24,305
Spent in most recent FY
2%
Percent of program expenses
Advocacy Services
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
To offer hope and support to Mesothelioma cancer patients and their families through education, funding of quality, peer-reviewed research, and raise public awareness.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
We are dedicated to ending mesothelioma and the suffering caused by this cancer.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Funding research to improve treatment options.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Two: Providing treatment support and education for patients, families, caregivers, and bereaved.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Advocating for federal funding of research.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
The Foundation has invested in professional development for staff to support leadership improvement and has approved a forward-looking budget that includes a full strategic planning process.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
The Meso Foundation works across silos in patient advocacy and translational research to create partnerships and cohorts that raise awareness about mesothelioma, funnel research into mesothelioma treatments, and improve the patient diagnostic and treatment journey. By working in collaboration with other organizations, we have secured dedicated federal research funding and have seen one new treatment modality for our patients in the last few years.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
As the COVID pandemic has continued and with our patient community at the highest risk for negative outcomes if they get the virus, we have done deep and important work to develop a strategic plan for moving our organization to a fully virtual entity. Two years into this pandemic, we've learned that our value to our patients and our advocacy efficacy is not tied to our location in Washington DC but rather in the human assets of the Foundation. We have also gone through a leadership change with our longtime Executive Director retiring in October 2021. New leadership is a time for reflection, assessment, and change management, which is what the Foundation is doing now and will continue to do during 2022 and 2023.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Julie Powers
Executive Director
Marjorie Zauderer
Chair
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
100
out of 100
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has earned a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating. The organization provided data about how it listens to constituents (Constituent Feedback) and its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) practices (see report below).
The Culture & Community Beacon is comprised of the following metrics:
Constituent Feedback: 100/100 (30% of beacon score)
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: 100/100 (70% of beacon score)
Culture & Community Report
100
of 100 points
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
100/100 points
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 100 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 14 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
View this organization's DEI Strategies
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
100/100 points
30% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
View this organization's Constituent Feedback Practices
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
