Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1952.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
71 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
29 people listed on the 990; $3.1M paid to officers and key staff.
Donald Wood’s $662K as Outgoing President & CEO is at the 92nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 249 $10–100M diseases & disorders nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellen Vos | — | — | — | — | — | $823,260 |
| Donald Wood | $662,437 | $634,139 | $490,624 | $522,923 | $434,363 | $14,663 |
| Michael Kennedy | $158,297 | $445,354 | $334,979 | $331,534 | $290,169 | $280,612 |
| Sharon Hesterlee | $421,661 | $285,786 | $237,040 | $229,015 | $216,489 | $215,353 |
| Karen Andrews | — | — | — | — | — | $382,063 |
| Henry Lanman | $380,303 | $372,458 | $357,404 | $188,632 | — | — |
| Kathy Kauffmann | — | — | — | — | — | $325,534 |
| Kristine Welker | — | — | — | $304,472 | $263,684 | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Educates health professionals and the public about neuromuscular diseases and treatments through conferences, resources, and accredited medical education.
Questions for Muscular Dystrophy Association INC
Your first name shows with your question. Muscular Dystrophy Association INC answers here, for everyone.
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Health Care and Community Services
Mda is committed to empowering people living with muscular dystrophy, als and related neuromuscular diseases through research, care, and advocacy. As the largest source of funding for neuromuscular disease research outside of the federal government mda has committed more than $1 billion to accelerate the discovery of therapies and cures.
Professional and Public Health Education
Mda offers a broad and expanding array of resources and events expertly developed to respond to the rapidly changing treatment landscape. Our resources for providing relevant medical education to professionals are unparalleled and our services and initiatives reflect our leadership in this area.
Research
Mda is the largest non-governmental funder of neuromuscular disease research in the country, supporting strategic research for muscular dystrophy, als, and related neuromuscular diseases. Since its inception in 1950, mda has invested more than $1 billion in neuromuscular disease research to uncover new treatments.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $5.9M | $9.1M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $44.3M | $35.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.0M | $392K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $58.0M | $50.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $54.5M | $41.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.4M | $9.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $12.8M | $12.8M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $1.4M | $1.4M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $2.0M | $1.3M | $96K | $631K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $20.9M | $13.4M | $986K | $6.5M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $388K | $250K | $18K | $120K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $4.1M | $2.7M | $195K | $1.3M |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.7M | $1.1M | $82K | $536K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $301K | $33K | $88K | $179K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $130K | $51K | $15K | $64K |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $420K | $420K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $1.2M | $1.2M | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $124K | $124K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.2M | $1.1M | $73K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.8M | $1.8M | $5K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2.1M | $916K | $220K | $994K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $2.3M | $801K | $769K | $696K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $106K | $64 | $78K | $28K |
| TravelLn 17 | $2.2M | $1.6M | $76K | $575K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.0M | $1.0M | $41 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $778K | $305K | $92K | $380K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $657K | $535K | $122K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $474K | $186K | $56K | $231K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $3.4M | $2.0M | $1.4M | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $189K | $64K | $87K | $38K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $61.7M | $43.8M | $3.2M | $14.8M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $64.2M | $61.7M | $2.4M | $9.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $60.4M | $66.0M | −$5.6M | $3.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $59.4M | $62.1M | −$2.7M | $8.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $63.2M | $59.0M | $4.3M | $6.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $63.4M | $53.4M | $10.0M | $4.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $63.7M | $68.4M | −$4.7M | −$23.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $64,160,032 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 18 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $64,160,032 across 13 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $61,748,106 across 24 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $50,874,216 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $9,697,419 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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