Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 2001.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
81 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
48 people listed on the 990; $1.1M paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Jeffrey Blake Maher’s $351K as CEO is at the 76th percentile of top reported officer pay among 746 $10–100M mental health 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 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Blake Maher | $350,992 | $333,678 | $316,713 | $307,817 | $306,230 |
| Sandra Hijikata | $233,259 | $223,438 | $212,801 | $189,605 | — |
| Justin Fusaro | $226,402 | $206,702 | $206,748 | $196,826 | $199,905 |
| Wendy Cook | — | — | $177,391 | $172,139 | $175,203 |
| Tara Fisher | — | $174,300 | $154,814 | $154,325 | $151,950 |
| Clea Newman | $149,514 | $147,361 | $140,857 | $139,994 | $137,705 |
| Laura Blaisdell | $148,375 | — | — | — | — |
| Julia Harris | — | — | $143,448 | $138,726 | $146,170 |
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 Serious Fun Childrens Network 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
Helps children with serious illnesses and their families find joy and new possibilities, free of charge.
Questions for Serious Fun Childrens Network INC
Your first name shows with your question. Serious Fun Childrens Network INC answers here, for everyone.
To provide services to 16 member camps and partner programs in formation, initiate programs to share best practices between camps, insure quality medical and camp programs, award grants to member camps and support fundraising and sustainability efforts, and issue and impact awareness.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 31-1794455) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $1.3M | $1.2M | $1.0M | $1.1M |
| AddedLn 1b | $1.1M | |||
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $4K | $4K |
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.5M | $6.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $7.9M | $8.3M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $121K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $14.6M | $16.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2.3M | $2.7M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $12.3M | $14.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $4.7M | $4.7M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $2.8M | $2.8M | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $589K | $317K | $85K | $187K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.5M | $1.4M | $365K | $800K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $193K | $104K | $28K | $61K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $227K | $122K | $33K | $72K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $226K | $121K | $33K | $71K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $95K | $38K | $35K | $22K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $371K | $318K | $19K | $33K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $106K | $53K | $11K | $43K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $482K | $263K | $38K | $180K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $221K | $121K | $27K | $74K |
| TravelLn 17 | $34K | $29K | $873 | $4K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $32K | $27K | $812 | $4K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $3K | $1K | $318 | $874 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $56K | $22K | $21K | $13K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $236K | $10K | $226K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $12.9M | $10.4M | $697K | $1.8M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 7, 2025 | $16.3M | $17.2M | −$927K | $15.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Jun 28, 2024 | $17.2M | $17.1M | $46K | $15.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jun 20, 2023 | $14.6M | $14.2M | $475K | $15.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Sep 21, 2022 | $13.6M | $12.1M | $1.5M | $15.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Sep 20, 2021 | $14.3M | $12.9M | $1.4M | $14.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $14,255,601 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 36 of 36 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $14,255,601 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $12,884,201 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $16,818,165 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $14,138,497 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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