Dakota Medical Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
With the aim to positively impact health in our region, Dakota Medical Foundation hosts a family of programs and education initiatives. We lead initiatives to create a region of the healthiest people, build the fundraising success of charities, and invest in new ideas that create widespread health improvement.We further invest our resources in helping charities become exceptional at fundraising. With adequate money for their missions, organizations multiply their impact on health and quality of life.
- Income
- $10.6 million
- Spending
- $7.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 92%
- Reserves
- 3.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 58%
- Employees
- 9
- Volunteers
- 255
- Highest pay
- $599,528, director (until june)
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (health care, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.4 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 20% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 32% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 45% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1592% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 52% of charities in its peer group (health care, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 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 September 30, 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 (2)
- $4.5 million spent. Dakota Medical Foundation (DMF) and its supporting organization, Dakota Medical Charities (DMC), (the "Foundations") are recognized leaders dedicated to addressing societal health problems and improving the health and quality of life for people across North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. The Foundations focus their grants and initiative programs in support of the following areas: Access to Healthcare, Organizational Effectiveness, Health and Wellbeing, and Donor Fulfillment. ACCESS TO HEALTHCARELend A Hand Up Initiative: In 2007, Dakota Medical Foundation established the Lend A Hand Up Initiative to provide financial and fundraising assistance to a defined charitable class of families and individuals in Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN that experience financial hardships due to catastrophic medical issues. In 2019, the mission was expanded to include residents of Becker County, MN. In 2022, the mission was expanded to include financial hardship due to a traumatic event or recent loss of life, in addition to critical health issues. In 2024, the program expanded to Otter Tail County. In 2025, the program expanded into Steele, Traill, and Grand Forks counties. $2.7M was raised with gift cards and financial boosts distributed to 102 qualified families.
- $2.1 million spent. ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESSImpact Training and Coaching: The High Impact Institute's ultimate goal is to help individuals and organizations unlock their potential to serve. The High Impact Institute works to help charities build a systematic approach to fundraising and a high impact approach to Board-CEO-team leadership. The High Impact Institute also serves as a co-host and fundraising coach for charities in Giving Hearts Day, one of the first and longest running giving days in the United States. Since 2008, Giving Hearts Day has helped charities raise more than $226 million to improve health and quality of life in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. DMF Center for Excellence & Innovation: In March 2013, DMF opened a newly-constructed 18,800 square foot building as a gift to the community serving as a nonprofit community center to educate and train area nonprofits, as well as a gathering space for local nonprofits. In 2023, 228 nonprofits used the facility at little or no cost for nearly 500 training, education, and retreat events with more than 8,000 community members in attendance. Since March 2013, over 1,500 nonprofits have utilized the space for over 3,300 events with nearly 100,000 combined attendees.Due to ever-increasing demand, the Foundation determined it was time to expand its ability to serve and bring together significantly more people and organizations. In April 2024 the Foundations moved into their new headquarters at 4321 20th Ave. S. in Fargo. After sixteen months of renovation the doors of the new DMF Center of Excellence were opened in August 2025. DMF sees the approximately 90,000-square-foot campus as an enduring gift to the community. It was designed to become a regional destination where people gather to develop healthy life habits, build high-performing organizations, and access meaningful learning opportunities. The facility is used to host in-person and virtual events, community learning opportunities, and serves as the home of Impact Foundation, the Alex Stern Family Foundation, North Dakota Dental Foundation, Optometric Foundation of North Dakota, Peace Academy, North Dakota Safety Council, Giving Hearts Day, Lend A Hand Up, High Impact Boards, and more than 100 donor-advised funds. GivingHeartsDay.org: This technology platform allows charities to accept online contributions from donors, share their stories, and engage volunteers. The website received several upgrades including an update to the admin features to improve charity satisfaction, functionality and overall user experience. The platform also leveraged a stress testing environment to refine high-performance system architecture.Giving Hearts Day Initiative: Together, with Impact Foundation and the Alex Stern Family Foundation, Dakota Medical Foundation hosts an annual 24-hour giving day to boost charity awareness and volunteering and giving in our region. Since inception in 2008, Giving Hearts Day has generated contributions for charities across North Dakota and northwest Minnesota totaling almost $226 million. In fiscal year 2025, Foundation staff along with the new GHD mascot, Henry the Heart, led and coordinated the complex undertaking of managing 619 charities in helping raise $31.6 million dollars from nearly 41,000 donors who made 86,590 donations and experienced the region's most generous day. Six charities raised more than $1 million each. 310 region wide businesses engaged in GHD by either promoting, donating, encouraging employee donations, distributing GHD gift cards or hosting goods drives. Food and goods were collected and distributed by 159 locations. 8,105 gift cards were distributed. 484 acts of service were reported and pledged. Giving Hearts Day 2025 featured the second annual Live Giving Hearts Day show which was hosted by local TV station WDAY and aired region-wide featuring a mix of charity profiles, live interviews, and giveaways were featured. The Foundations have provided nearly $7.75 million in matching fund grants and incentive grants for participating organizations since inception.HEALTH AND WELLBEINGIn FY25 Dakota Medical Foundation and Impact Foundation continued the Lead with LIGHT initiative. The program offers hope and replaces doubt, despair and lack of direction. Lead with LIGHT is a leadership program that aims to help leaders develop their capabilities to create civil, healthy, high-performing environments where those around them will shine their brightest. The ultimate vision is to grow and develop thousands of Leaders of LIGHT across the region to ignite a movement to see light, be light, and spread light.Lead with Hope & VisionInstill Meaning & Purpose in All We DoGalvanize GratitudeHonor Health: Mind, Body, and SpiritTalk, Walk, and Model Civility, Kindness, Respect Forgiveness, and Love for AllIn FY2024, the Foundations hosted two in-person events with the first session focused on Talking, walking, and modeling civility, kindness, respect, forgiveness, and love for all. The session explained how we are living in perhaps the most remarkable and challenging time in our nation's history in terms of incivility and how we treat one another. The session focused on ways to master and model the behaviors of civility, forgiveness, and love for all. The second session focused on Honoring Health by learning to become better in mind, body, and spirit and inspiring those around us to become better as well. In October of 2024, Dakota Medical and Impact Foundations co-hosted a summit alongside the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation featuring New York Times Best-Selling Author and distinguished professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, Arthur Brooks. More than 700 attendees packed the Fargo Theatre to hear Arthur Brooks share how we can manage our own happiness by focusing on Faith, Family, Friends and Serving others.In FY2025, the Lead with LIGHT sessions continued beginning with a session focused on the importance of Galvanizing Grat
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2002.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 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.