Illinois · Nonprofit
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC (Illinois) receives grants from 989 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,060,784 to it, the largest being DUTCH BROS FOUNDATION ($7,316,384). 500 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $64M
- Funders on record
- 989
- Grants received
- $45M
- Net assets
- $9.7M
What Muscular Dystrophy Association Inc does
Mission
Muscular dystrophy association (mda) is the #1 voluntary health organization in the united states for people living with muscular dystrophy, als, and related neuromuscular diseases. (cont. Schedule o) for over 70 years, mda has led the way in accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating for the support of our families. Mda's mission is to empower the people we serve to live longer, more independent lives.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Health care and community services: mda is committed to empowering people living with muscular dystrophy, als and related neuromuscular diseases through research, care, and advocacy. As the largest source of funding for neuromuscular disease research outside of the federal government mda has committed more than $1 billion to accelerate the discovery of therapies and cures. We support the largest network of multidisciplinary clinics at more than 150 top medical institutions, serve the community with one-on-one specialized support, and offer educational conferences, events, and materials for families and healthcare providers. (cont. Schedule o)each of our mda care centers offers individuals and families best-in-class, comprehensive care from an integrated multidisciplinary team of healthcare specialists conveniently sited at one location. In a single day, patients can see multiple healthcare providers who work together to ensure coordinated individual care for every patient to best fit their specific needs. Highly trained mda care specialists serve as an important part ofthe care team, helping families navigate the health system, answering questions, distributing mda educational…
$21,968,472 spentof which $7,228,714 as grants50% of program spendingResearch: mda is the largest non-governmental funder of neuromuscular disease research in the country, supporting strategic research for muscular dystrophy, als, and related neuromuscular diseases. Since its inception in 1950, mda has invested more than $1 billion in neuromuscular disease research to uncover new treatments. A single breakthrough can lead to a cure. Our funding research across many neuromuscular diseases means findings from one disease often enable progress in others, maximizing the speed at which we can make progress. Support for mda's research enables mda to fund leading research teams working toward breakthrough therapies, which can have a life-changing impact on patients. (cont. Schedule o)mda-funded breakthroughs include drugs for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als), duchenne muscular dystrophy (dmd), periodic paralysis, pompe disease, and spinal muscular atrophy (sma). Mda launched the movr (neuromuscular observational research) data hub as a transformative platform, combining mda's care center network with a state-of-the-art information-management system. As the largest centralized data hub for multiple neuromuscular diseases, movr aggregates clinical,…
$7,773,027 spentof which $6,893,247 as grants18% of program spendingProfessional and public health education:mda offers a broad and expanding array of resources and events expertly developed to respond to the rapidly changing treatment landscape. Our resources for providing relevant medical education to professionals are unparalleled and our services and initiatives reflect our leadership in this area. We provide both accredited continuing medical education (cme) and non-cme programs. As the most comprehensive neuromuscular disease meeting in the world, our annual mda clinical & scientific conference provides a unique opportunity to learn from, be inspired by, and share ideas with experts from academia, government, and industry. (cont. Schedule o)at the community level, we established mda engage and mda access educational event series that brings local high-impact educational programs to the neuromuscularcommunity in-person and virtually. Each of the engage programs incorporates multiple modules of interest, from therapy development roundtables to disease management to genetic testing, designed specifically for community audiences. Each event also includes a social element for families and participants with the aim of strengthening the community…
$14,068,409 spentof which $25,750 as grants32% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $43,809,908.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $76M to $64M (−15%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 1% · 2021 14% · 2022 4% · 2023 1% · 2024 1% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
85% of MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (7% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Sharon Hesterlee
President & CEO
Board chair
Governor Brad Henry
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2024 and FY2025 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 303 funders to 256 funders, grant income rose $3.1M → $7.5M.
79 of 989 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 989 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 12 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 12 funders to its left
55% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 8% · 2018 7% · 2019 6% · 2020 26% · 2021 10% · 2022 31% · 2023 33% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
29% of MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC draws 96% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 47 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $9.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 29 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,969 health nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,969 health nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $3.3M on record — $3.2M federal, $18k state.
- Department of Health and Human Services$3.2M
- FL$15k
- NJ$2k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
94%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 46 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC?
- MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC (Illinois) receives grants from 989 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,060,784 to it, the largest being DUTCH BROS FOUNDATION ($7,316,384). 500 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 989 organizations giving $45,060,784 in grants to MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC, 500 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC?
- DUTCH BROS FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $7,316,384 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 989 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing