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Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)

CharityWatch report issued
October 2020

Top-Rated Charity
A
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
88%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$9
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)
110 North Carpenter Street
Chicago, IL 60607

Other Names

RMHC

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.rmhc.org

Stated Mission

To create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children & their families.

View similar charities
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 12/31/2019

Program Percentage: 88%

The percentage of Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)'s cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$50,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $9

How many dollars Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office) spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$51,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Ronald McDonald House Charities IRS Form 990 36-2934689
Ronald McDonald House Charities Audited Financial Statements 36-2934689
Entity: Ronald McDonald House Charities
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 36-2934689
Entity: Ronald McDonald House Charities
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 36-2934689

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy No Sharing  

Unable to Provide Salaries

CharityWatch is unable to provide a range of Top Three Salaries for this charity for the above fiscal reporting year because we lack complete salary data for the organization. Except for officers, directors, and trustees, the IRS does not require breakouts of salaries totaling less than $100,000.

For example, XYZ charity would be required to provide a breakout in its tax form of compensation to its president of $55,000, but would not be required to provide a breakout of $99,000 in compensation to its top medical researcher if that person is not also an officer, director, or trustee of the organization.

This charity reports that compensation to its officers, directors, and trustees is under $100,000 per individual. Donors who would like to view limited salary data for this organization should refer to its tax form, which may be available on the charity's web site or from a number of third-party sources. See CharityWatch's Links page for information on obtaining copies of charity tax forms.


CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

CharityWatch's rating of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is for the National Office and does not include the financial activities of the independent RMHC Local Chapters.


According to the RMHC audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 1 re: Organization):

"...RMHC fulfills its mission by creating programs that address targeted needs and by supporting these programs and other activities conducted by its RMHC Local Chapters (Chapters) worldwide...

"Ronald McDonald House Charities is a system of independent, separately registered public benefit organizations, referred to as 'Chapters' by RMHC. Each Chapter is licensed by McDonald's Corporation and RMHC to use RMHC related trademarks in conjunction with fundraising activities and the operation of its programs; the license agreement also sets standards of operations for programs, governance, finance, branding, and reporting..."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 9, Donated Goods and Services):

"RMHC received total donated goods and services of $5,217,000 and $5,832,000, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. ... Donated goods and services include support from McDonald's Corporation consisting of the free use of its facilities, equipment, materials, and employee services, which totaled $4,924,000 and $5,168,000, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 10, Related Party Transactions):

"RMHC provides ongoing program grants to all of its Chapters around the world. These program grants are pre-authorized by the board of RMHC for the benefit of all Chapters. The grants are available to all Chapters that meet the program parameters; as such, the individual grants do not require any additional board action. Grants totaling $1,949,000 and $4,731,000, during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were provided to Chapters where certain members of the RMHC board also serve as officers and/or directors of the Chapter."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 2, Significant Contribution):

"AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, provided a historic donation of $100 million to RMHC in 2018. Of this donation, $96,276,000 was designated to provide grants to 32 chapters to build family-centered spaces and to add 674 new guest sleeping rooms in 26 states and at 32 Ronald McDonald Houses. This will allow for approximately 246,000 additional night stays for pediatric patients and their families each year, helping RMHC Chapters to meet increasing demand and serve more families. Additionally, $3,724,000 was designated to fund Chapter capacity building programs."


According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 11, Concentrations):

"McDonald's Corporation provides support to RMHC through donated goods and services (see Note 9 [cited separately, above]), direct contributions, and facilitation of fundraisers at its company-owned and franchised restaurants, of which the proceeds collected are remitted to RMHC. Contributions from these efforts totaled $38,015,000 and $38,413,000, during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. This represents 64% and 25% of total revenues...

"During the year ended December 31, 2018, RMHC received contributions totaling $100,000,000 from Abbvie, Inc. [sic], which represents 66% of total revenues. All funds were received as of December 31, 2018."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 12, Subsequent Event Disclosures):

"Subsequent to year-end, the World Health Organization declared the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) a worldwide pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is having significant effects on global markets, supply chains, businesses, and communities. Specific to the Organization, COVID-19 may impact various parts of its 2020 operations and financial results, including the receipt of contributions and collections on outstanding pledges receivable. In addition, investment markets have experienced significant declines since December 31, 2019. Management believes the Organization is taking appropriate actions to mitigate the negative impact. However, the full impact of COVID-19 is unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated as these events occurred subsequent to year-end [and] are still developing."


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