Donations & Expenses
We incorporated in April 2010 and since then we have raised just under $80,000 (Oct 2010). This is largely in part to a generous starting grant from the Marsh family. We do not spend money on office space and none of our Board Members are paid. Our largest single payee is hosting for our website which we do not currently classify as a fundraising expense.
As of Oct 30th, our overhead was under 16% percent. What that means is, 85 cents of every $1 raised goes directly to awarding grants for new discoveries in childhood cancer. Grants are reviewed and approved by our Scientific Advisory Board.
As corporate sponsors step forward, the percentage of donations that go directly to science will increase. Our goal is to find a corporate sponsor for our overhead so that 100% of donations may go to our primary mission. As we grow in donations, we believe that our overhead should shrink, not grow. It boggles our minds how some organizations that gross in the tens of millions in donations each year can require a 20% overhead. We want to stay lean and flexible, able to react to changes, continue to make a difference, and most importantly, never succumb to bureaucracy.
One thing you will notice about many charities is that they take as much of their expenses as they can and lump them under fundraising expenses. This makes them look as though they have low overhead, when in fact that number may be questionable. Our goal is to maintain total transparency with our finances. To do this, we will be publishing an annual review sometime after the first of the year. In it we will add in greater detail where our (your) money goes.
If you have any specific questions you can always email Ryan Marsh ryan@laylagrace.org. Our goal is to maintain complete candor with you.
Non-Profit Status
Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation is incorporated as a Texas non-profit corporation and is governed by both State and Federal law, including the states that we operate in. Your donation is tax deductible. We do not yet have a final determination letter from the IRS. When we do it will be completely retroactive from the date of our incorporation. We have until June 2012 to request determination, and have already done so.
Again, if you have any questions, email us.