Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 1996.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
11 people listed on the 990.
Daniel Lipka’s $134K as Executive Director is at the 32nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 361 $1–10M medical research 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Lipka | $134,353 | $130,440 |
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.
See Making Headway Foundation INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Supports children and families facing brain or spinal cord tumors with programs and research funding.
Questions for Making Headway Foundation INC
Your first name shows with your question. Making Headway Foundation INC answers here, for everyone.
Making headway foundation maintains a unique relationship with nyu langone medical center and its stephen d hassenfeld childrens center for cancer and blood disorders. Each grant that is funded is selected based on its ability to provide humanistic support to patient families while searching for improved treatments and eventually a cure.
At the stephen d hassenfeld children's center for cancer and blood disorders we provide patient support in the amount of $32,210. Other programs funded: funeral expenses for children who have passed away and whose families cannot afford the cost in the amount of $72,787, scholarships totaling $88,000 were given to children surviving a…
Returning home from the hospital can be a disorienting and isolated feeling for the patients and their family members. They find themselves struggling to adjust to a familar place where everything has changed.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $3.3M | $1.3M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $70K | $1.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $11K | $5K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.8M | $4.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $355K | $212K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.4M | $4.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $292K | $292K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $141K | $85K | $41K | $16K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $129K | $102K | $21K | $6K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $10K | $6K | $3K | $2K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $35K | $24K | $8K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $19K | $19K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $5K | $741 | $1K | $3K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $592 | $85 | $83 | $424 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $43K | $11K | $8K | $24K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $23K | $9K | $10K | $3K |
| TravelLn 17 | $615 | $267 | $331 | $17 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $690 | $690 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5K | $1K | $852 | $3K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $16K | $7K | $8K | $556 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $446K | $446K | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $66K | $58K | $8K | $62 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.2M | $1.0M | $130K | $60K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 14, 2025 | $1.1M | $1.3M | −$212K | $3.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2024 | $1.0M | $1.3M | −$256K | $4.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 | $1.1M | $1.2M | −$175K | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 4, 2022 | $1.2M | $1.3M | −$87K | $4.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Oct 19, 2021 | $1.0M | $1.6M | −$546K | $4.5M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,058,116 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,058,116 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,233,162 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,422,566 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,210,353 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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