American Liver Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
ALF's mission is to promote education, advocacy, support services and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of liver disease.
- Income
- $2.1 million
- Spending
- $1.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 29 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 96%
- Employees
- 40
- Volunteers
- 100
- Highest pay
- $255,910, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (diseases, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 29.0 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 21% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 27% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 63% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (diseases, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2522 of 22 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $354,319 spent. COMMUNITY SERVICE: ALF conducts important advocacy work on behalf of the patient community, actively raising awareness of legislation affecting the liver community. Began introductory outreach to the 119th Congress. Created a Health Policy Round-Up blog which highlights health policy news. Sent a Medicaid Action Alert to ensure no cuts to Medicaid liver patients. Planned Liver Life Advocacy Summit scheduled for late April. Sent letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding their proposed rule on anti-obesity medication coverage. Participated in a Rare Disease Day panel discussion. (Expenses $ 133,862 including grants of $) PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Issued monthly liver newsletter, Healthcare Connections, to over 3,000 medical professionals. Launched first comprehensive educational program for the primary care community on MASH, utilizing a national platform Project Echo. Conducted 2025 Liver Health Poster Competition with liver medical professionals and liver fellows. Engaged medical experts to execute the following tasks: fact sheet content development and/or review; Spanish translation; connections with expert topic medical presenters; support group leadership; recruitment of early career professionals; medical expert champions for events; medical expert KOLs for committees; medical expert recruitment for Corporate Council meetings; and HCP recruitment for media opportunities. Engaged National Medical Visionary Team, an advisory group that meets on a regular basis to explore publication content and avenues to promote ALF's public health work. Engaged medical professionals in ALF's liver disease initiative, palliative care initiative, Veterans partnership, and so much more. Launched second Student Liver Club at an academic medical center. (Expenses $ 91,606 including grants of $) RESEARCH American Liver Foundation (ALF) has a history of commitment to research funding dating back to 1979. In 2023 with the approval of ALF's National Board of Directors, ALF established a dedicated Research Department led by an experienced PhD. Growth has been exponential in terms of meaningful pilot research grant opportunities for experienced researchers and grant awards to support the pipeline of early career researchers. The ALF Research Program was promoted at the annual AASLD (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases) Liver Meeting through interactions with a variety of stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry partners, patients, and other non-profit organizations.
- $346,606 spent. PATIENT SUPPORT: ALF provides much needed support through numerous programs geared to liver patients and their caregivers. Administered Caring Connections, ALF's Peer-to-Peer support program. Held national support group meetings facilitated by trained social workers. Provided support for biliary atresia families through the Bili the Brave program involving 25 national children's hospitals. Planned the launch of ALF's national non-directed living liver donor transplant registry. Launched a liver website microsite to host clinical trial-related content including educational information for patients and caregivers, and a clinical trials finder tool to help match patients with available clinical trials. Encouraged patient engagement with the American Liver Foundation Patient Registry that has attracted 804 participants to date and is being translated into Spanish.
- $299,679 spent. PUBLIC AND PATIENT EDUCATION: Through ALF's signature public health campaign, Think Liver Think Life, made great progress in raising awareness of fatty liver disease. Expanded to 30 states; signed 65 MOUs with free and charitable clinics, FQHCs, and health departments. Screened at 29 community events nationwide. Distributed 2,775 Hep C tests through clinics. Executed 14,000 Think Liver Think Life online quizzes since program inception, with more than 1.75 million people learning about their liver health. ALF focuses on creating impactful national partnerships to provide public and patient education. Executed national agreement with the Veterans Administration to provide liver education and support to veterans including liver videos, liver website microsite, liver webinars and YouTube channel. Launched a national partnership with Walgreens to educate the community on fatty liver disease through the creation of multiple webinars. Published an ALF blog for the National Health Council's Black History Month series. Worked with UPMC to create, produce and promote a new three-part educational webinar series on liver transplant. Raising national public awareness of liver disease is a priority for ALF. Appeared on the nationally televised Tamron Hall Show, featuring a prominent ALF family. Launched the Educated Patient series featuring Q&A and Recipes, working with MJH Life Sciences. Secured media stories in MedPage Today, Everyday Health, and SRN News. Executed public education campaigns including diseases of the liver, hepatitis, liver disease diets, MASLD/MASH. Released 11 videos including presentations about liver cancer, pediatric liver disease, COVID liver update, and several patient testimonials for ALF patient registry. (Expenses $ 133,862 including grants of $) PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Issued monthly liver newsletter, Healthcare Connections, to over 3,000 medical professionals. Launched first comprehensive educational program for the primary care community on MASH, utilizing a national platform Project Echo. Conducted 2025 Liver Health Poster Competition with liver medical professionals and liver fellows. Engaged medical experts to execute the following tasks: fact sheet content development and/or review; Spanish translation; connections with expert topic medical presenters; support group leadership; recruitment of early career professionals; medical expert champions for events; medical expert KOLs for committees; medical expert recruitment for Corporate Council meetings; and HCP recruitment for media opportunities. Engaged National Medical Visionary Team, an advisory group that meets on a regular basis to explore publication content and avenues to promote ALF's public health work. Engaged medical professionals in ALF's liver disease initiative, palliative care initiative, Veterans partnership, and so much more. Launched second Student Liver Club at an academic medical center. (Expenses $ 91,606 including grants of $) RESEARCH American Liver Foundation (ALF) has a history of commitment to research funding dating back to 1979. In 2023 with the approval of ALF's National Board of Directors, ALF established a dedicated Research Department led by an experienced PhD. Growth has been exponential in terms of meaningful pilot research grant opportunities for experienced researchers and grant awards to support the pipeline of early career researchers. The ALF Research Program was promoted at the annual AASLD (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases) Liver Meeting through interactions with a variety of stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry partners, patients, and other non-profit organizations.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending March 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 1977.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Americares Foundation Inc (Stamford, CT), EIN 06-1008595. If that is the one you meant, check the EIN before giving.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.