Gapps
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 46% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
GAPPS' Mission Is To Improve Birth Outcomes Worldwide
- Income
- $265,582
- Spending
- $728,526
- Spent on programs
- 46%
- Reserves
- 5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 99%
- Employees
- 4
- Volunteers
- 4
- Highest pay
- $24,000, treasurer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 30 out of 100. Higher than 5% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.0 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 32% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 174% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 35% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1546% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 97 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 254 of 5 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
12 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
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, 2024, 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)
- $209,279 spent. PERINATAL RESEARCHDeveloping a successful array of solutions for adverse birth outcomes urgently requires a broader understanding of normal pregnancy. We need to close our knowledge gaps before we can close our solution gaps.In addition to convening global scientific experts around the challenge to methodically study pregnancy and early newborn health, GAPPS is working with partners to close these gaps by: Leading global harmonization efforts to strengthen perinatal research; establishing standard definitions and classifications for preterm birth and stillbirth; founding a widely accessible biorepository focused on maternal and newborn health; building research capacity in low- and middle-income countries; establishing ethical guidelines for pregnancy-related research in low- and middle-income countries; working to inform global policy and advocacy efforts for preterm birth and stillbirth; discovering and promoting basic and translational science in preterm birth and maternal/child health; defining the global burden of prematurity and stillbirth; developing evidence-based interventions appropriate to low-resource settings to reduce the burden of maternal and neonatal disease
- $93,013 spent. GAPPS Bioservices was founded in 2009 to serve the urgent need for biological specimens to support research on complications in pregnancy. GAPPS offers full service biospecimen management including biospecimen procurement and management, sample storage and tracking, and molecular analyte extraction. Comprehensive quality control and quality assurance systems are built into every component of our operations. GAPPS has harnessed its expertise in collection and storage of a wide variety of sample types and their derivatives to provide investigators with high quality data and biospecimens to support translational research around the world, including research on normal and abnormal pregnancies, how pregnancy affects maternal and child health after delivery, and fetal origins of diseases.GAPPS Bioservices operates a widely-accessible biobank of standardized, high-quality specimens linked to data from diverse populations of pregnant women and their babies. The collection includes contributions from women representing a range of racial, ethnic, regional and socioeconomic backgrounds. In the United States, GAPPS has recruited and followed the pregnancies of over 2,500 women, collecting extensive demographic and medical data linked to over 136,000 banked specimens. Over 30,000 of these have been distributed to researchers to study the causes of pregnancy complications, and ultimately to develop interventions to save the lives of mothers and babies
- $16,609 spent. ENSPIREENSPIRE Study: Engaging Staff to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Rates at Long-Term Care Facilities. In the United States, COVID-19 was first seen in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The pandemic has particularly burdened these facilities. It is crucial that workers at LTCFs are vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves, their families, and the older adults in their care. However, LTCF workers have lower vaccination rates than needed to protect them and the people they care for.Many LTCF staff belong to immigrant, refugee, and/or racial and ethnic groups that due to historical and current racism and mistreatment do not trust information from governments or doctors about vaccines. This project will work with LTCF staff to offer COVID-19 vaccine information that is trustworthy and tailored to the needs of language or cultural groups. The specific goals of this project are to: 1)Compare two ways of tailoring information about the COVID-19 vaccines for specific LTCFs staff populations versus the generic materials that are usually distributed. We will test if and how much more these two tailoring approaches increase vaccination rates of LTCFs staff compared to generic messages; 2)Study if the way COVID-19 vaccine information is developed and offered is practical for use by LTCFs and other community health organizations.
- OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: PERINATAL RESEARCHDeveloping a successful array of solutions for adverse birth outcomes urgently requires a broader understanding of normal pregnancy. We need to close our knowledge gaps before we can close our solution gaps.In addition to convening global scientific experts around the challenge to methodically study pregnancy and early newborn health, GAPPS is working with partners to close these gaps by: Leading global harmonization efforts to strengthen perinatal research; establishing standard definitions and classifications for preterm birth and stillbirth; founding a widely accessible biorepository focused on maternal and newborn health; building research capacity in low- and middle-income countries; establishing ethical guidelines for pregnancy-related research in low- and middle-income countries; working to inform global policy and advocacy efforts for preterm birth and stillbirth; discovering and promoting basic and translational science in preterm birth and maternal/child health; defining the global burden of prematurity and stillbirth; developing evidence-based interventions appropriate to low-resource settings to reduce the burden of maternal and neonatal disease
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, 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 2024.
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 November 2017.
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.