Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1992.
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.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
38 people listed on the 990; $2.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rita L Soronen | $489,694 | $479,248 | $476,269 | $406,287 | $423,831 |
| Jennifer Justice | $230,848 | $213,552 | $200,841 | $191,515 | $186,388 |
| Jill Crumbacher | $228,821 | $212,198 | $199,531 | $190,448 | $185,281 |
| Melinda Haggerty | $222,366 | $197,869 | $184,696 | $176,059 | $174,225 |
| Eric Spires | $204,390 | $188,697 | $129,596 | — | — |
| David Frissora | $153,825 | $200,023 | $190,708 | $182,488 | $174,209 |
| Scott Kriss | — | — | — | $188,989 | $95,214 |
| Julianne Nichols | $162,379 | $145,196 | $136,517 | $123,573 | $121,230 |
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 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Increases foster care adoptions across North America and provides free educational resources to support families after their adoptions are finalized.
Questions for Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Your first name shows with your question. Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption answers here, for everyone.
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Wendy's Wonderful Kids
Wendy's wonderful kids, a signature program of the foundation, is making a difference for thousands of children across the nation - one child at a time. The dave thomas foundation for adoption awards grants to public and private agencies to hire adoption professionals who implement a proactive, child-focused recruitment strategy targeted…
Program Grants & Awareness
The foundation is committed to nationally communicating the urgency of foster care adoption and to encouraging everyone to become an ambassador for waiting children. Year-round awareness efforts include daily social media communications; marketing programs dispelling myths and misperceptions surrounding the issue of foster care adoption…
Adoption-Friendly Workplace
In 1990, president george H.W. Bush asked dave thomas, founder of wendy's, to be the spokesperson for a new adoption initiative. Dave, an adoptee and adoption advocate, enthusiastically accepted the challenge and began to speak out publicly, asking people to consider foster care adoption and encouraging other business leaders to offer…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $46.2M | $18.6M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $26.9M | $65.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $7.2M | $6.9M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $82.3M | $94.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $10.2M | $9.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $72.1M | $84.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $25.6M | $25.6M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $143K | $143K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.6M | $781K | $607K | $230K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.5M | $2.6M | $1.1M | $830K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $125K | $75K | $24K | $26K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $955K | $551K | $223K | $181K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $334K | $187K | $88K | $59K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $33 | $33 | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $52K | $52K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $1.4M | $1.4M | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $164K | $164K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $334K | $219K | $115K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.5M | $1.5M | $18K | $13K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $184K | $58K | $29K | $97K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $829K | $653K | $173K | $3K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $362K | $199K | $98K | $65K |
| TravelLn 17 | $215K | $112K | $5K | $98K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $35K | $16K | $14K | $4K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $352K | $328K | $10K | $14K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $58K | $58K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.4M | $1.1M | $37 | $320K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $253K | $101K | $112K | $40K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $40.5M | $34.3M | $2.9M | $3.3M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $61.6M | $52.9M | $8.8M | $109.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $56.1M | $44.6M | $11.6M | $100.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $52.4M | $40.5M | $12.0M | $84.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $45.8M | $36.8M | $8.9M | $72.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $39.2M | $28.8M | $10.4M | $57.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $52,421,388 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 20 of 21 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $52,421,388 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $40,455,373 across 22 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $94,085,268 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $84,543,695 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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