The Tears Foundation EIN 45-0500497 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

The Tears Foundation

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Provides compassionate emotional and financial support to grieving parents for child funeral expenses. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $409K in revenue, $585K in expenses, and $50K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2002
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Human Services
Location
Puyallup, WA
Filings
6 on file (2020–2025)
Revenue
$409KFY2025
Expenses
$585K
Net assets
$50K
People
4
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  45-0500497 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Puyallup, WA Founded 2002
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Provides compassionate emotional and financial support to grieving parents for child funeral expenses.
Leadership
Sarah Slack · President and Executive Direc · $115K
Money in and out
$409K revenue, $585K expenses
Bottom line
57% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$409K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$585K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$50K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$176K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.57 Management & general $0.35 Fundraising $0.08
Program efficiency
57%
of spending reaches programs▼ -16% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
4.1mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -25% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-43%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +13% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$409K
FY2025▼ -23%
Expenses
$585K
FY2025▼ -27%
Total assets
$268K
FY2025▼ -52%
Total liabilities
$218K
FY2025▼ -35%
Total revenue
$409K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$585K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$50K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$176K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$268K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B57%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 33
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 43
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $333K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

The tears foundation offers free support groups individual peer companions memorial events and onsite bereavement centers with resources for the community and bereaved families who have experienced the death of a child. Nine bereavement centers offered onsite support community awareness and training for professionals.

$206Kprogram expense
02

The tears foundation pays for infant and child markers current child funeral expenses and unexpected child funeral expenses. Four hundred and one families were assisted with their childs funeral and marker expenses in 2023.

$128Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CThe Tears Foundation
EINHdr · item D45-0500497
Principal addressHdr · item CPuyallup, WA
WebsiteHdr · item Jnone reported
Year of formationHdr · item L2002
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFHuman Services (P40)
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 2003

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a3
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b3
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President and Executive Direc
$115,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$25,920Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2022FY2021FY2020
Sarah Slack$115,000$115,100$115,000$107,000$81,126
Allen Shuh$25,920

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$324K · 79%
Other revenue$84K · 21%
Contributions & grants79%$324K
Other revenue21%$84K
Investment income$702
Total revenueLn 12$409K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.57 Management & general $0.35 Fundraising $0.08
Program services57%$333K
Management & general35%$207K
Fundraising8%$45K
Total functional expensesLn 25$585K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$200K
Total assetsLn 16$268K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$218K
Total net assetsLn 32$50K
Months of cash on handcomputed4.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $200K · Operating expenses/yr $585K
4.1 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $333K · Total expenses $585K
57%
Management & General
Management & general $207K · Total expenses $585K
35%
Fundraising
Fundraising $45K · Total expenses $585K
8%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $67K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $336K
$0.20 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $324K · Total revenue $409K
79%
Government reliance
Government grants $0 · Total revenue $409K
0%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $409K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $702 · Total revenue $409K
+0.2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $585K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $409K · Prior year $534K
-23%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $666K · FY2025 $409K
-9%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $50K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $409K · Expenses $585K
-43%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $268K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $50K · Total assets $268K
19%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $268K
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sarah Slack · Reported title PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIREC · Highest reported compensation $115K · Total expenses $585K
20%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $247K · Total expenses $585K
42%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 57%
Overhead ratio 35%
Fundraising cost ratio 14%
Revenue growth -23%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
10 Chefs INCFY2024$40K
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$61K
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 12 grants · $781K · 2020–2025
Unitemized GrantFY2025$47,985
Unitemized GrantFY2025$42,753
Unitemized GrantFY2024$130,904
Unitemized GrantFY2024$33,771
Unitemized GrantFY2023$112,537
Unitemized GrantFY2023$30,217
Unitemized GrantFY2022$155,611
Unitemized GrantFY2022$25,992
Unitemized GrantFY2021$21,814
Unitemized GrantFY2021$12,934
Unitemized GrantFY2020$142,276
Unitemized GrantFY2020$23,753

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$409K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$534K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$674K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$689K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$809K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$666K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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