Extracorporeal Life Support Organization
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
See Schedule O
- Income
- $6.4 million
- Spending
- $5.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 90%
- Reserves
- 12.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 93%
- Employees
- 6
- Volunteers
- 751
- Highest pay
- $348,880, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (health care, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 12.8 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 26% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 7% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 6% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1590% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 67% of charities in its peer group (health care, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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 December 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 (4)
- $737,888 spent. ELSO offers three types of membership: corporate, individual, and center membership. It is through our members that ELSO can advance knowledge, advocate for ECLS, and continue to innovate ECLS. In 2025, ELSO had ~750 center members from 67 countries. It is through our center members that patient run data is made available in the ELSO Registry. We maintain a commitment to high quality data in the ELSO Registry and a secure environment for the storage and retrieval of this data. Quality control checks are embedded in the ELSO Registry to ensure high quality data, and permissions to enter data are granted only after the successful completion of a data entry examination. Discounts are made available to members for other activities offered by ELSO, including purchasing books and registering for ELSO's annual conference.
- $1.3 million spent. ELSO is committed to providing high quality education and training for the entire ECLS practitioners physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and perfusionists. ELSO offers several education programs: a virtual program for providing didactic foundational knowledge for the adult and neo/peds patient populations. This is available globally with discounts available based on the resource ranking of the country of practice, as referenced to the World Bank Organization. In-person hands-on training is offered in two course options: simulation training and cannulation training. Simulation training is offered in a means that meets ELSO's Step 2 criteria for our individual certification program both in the adult and neo/peds populations. Cannulation training is for practitioners that will be providing this type of care related to ECMO in the clinical care setting. We provide in-person training for trainers to expand those running these courses throughout the world. ELSO endorses courses that meet our Step 1 and/or Step 2 criteria after careful evaluation of the program. Endorsed course certification is for three years, upon which term recertification can be available.
- $1.9 million spent. ELSO hosts an annual conference. In 2025, 1,870 people participated in our conference that was held in Washington DC at the Gaylord National Convention Center. Participation reflected a new record for us. This was also true for abstract submissions, with 380 submitted for scoring. Accepted abstracts are published in ASAIOJ and made available for free to our community. Abstracts are also presented at our conference. We were able to offer 2.5 days of scientific content and one full day of pre-conference material from 253 speakers. In addition to the scientific content, several working sessions and leadership meetings were held. This gathering is an important investment in our ability to share ideas, foster enthusiasm for our mission, and achieve our strategic goals.
- $1.3 million spent. ELSO launched a Bedside Guide App for the first time in 2025. This was a two-year investment in content development which is made available free on Apple and Google stores for remote devices (primarily smartphones). Our aim is to improve access to knowledge in a convenient manner that is responsive to today's practitioners. ELSO released the 5th Edition of our Training Manual during the conference. This work represents a significant update in content related to taking care of patients through ECLS. ~125 authors contributed to this work.We continue to expand the staff of the organization. In 2025, ELSO added one FTE to our team. Staff increase our capacity to deliver on our mission. In addition, ELSO is fortunate to work with many volunteers representing our centers on a global scale in a wide range of initiatives.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 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 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 December 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 June 2015.
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.