Childrens Airway First Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Generally, to operate exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Code, by (i) providing and facilitating education and training on children's breathing and airway disorders to medical doctors, dentists, insurers, public health officials, educators, and families, (ii) facilitating and funding research and programs for screening, evaluating and treating children's airway disorders, and (iii) raising global awareness of the silent epidemic of children's airway disorders together with prevention and treatment options.
- Income
- $1.0 million
- Spending
- $484,270
- Spent on programs
- 98%
- Reserves
- 27.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 23
- Highest pay
- $120,000, director and president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 80% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 27.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 53% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 285% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1598% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 30 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
5 of 251 of 3 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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, 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)
- $279,337 spent. CAFF continued to build and improve its world class web site during the year to serve as a reliable source of information for parents, doctors, dentists, medical professionals, public health officials and educators. Medical papers, books, and recent articles on airway are sourced for easy access. The web site became operational in the late Spring 2021 and is continually being improved upon. Site visits continue to increase and have registered into the thousands. In addition to visitors from the United States, they come from all over the world with heavy traffic from China, India, and the Middle East where airway disorders are prevalent. The site received a major upgrade during the year to support mobile access. During 2024, resources were expended to further develop the source listing of airway centric dentists to which parents could refer should they notice airway issues in their children. Since airway centric dentists are sparse, a listing is necessary when parents seek to find "who to call". Often, pediatricians have not been trained to diagnose breathing issues and also are at a loss of where to refer patients. It is estimated that the listing has already been helpful to many parents seeking help for children with airway issue symptoms. Efforts will continue to make the directory more useful for parents to find pediatric airway specialists.
- $79,900 spent. One of the first priorities was to assemble top advisory board members comprised of a diverse set of medical, dental, insurance and public health professionals. The idea was to integrate the various areas of health expertise to cover airway disorders. This was accomplished with luminaries in the field accepting appointments as identified on the CAFF web site. With a broad breadth of experience assembled, CAFF is facilitating a systemic approach to identifying children at all ages who have airway disorders affecting their life-long health. The goal is to screen, evaluate and treat all children with airway disorders. Four hundred million children worldwide are estimated to suffer some degree of breathing disorder. In 2024 several new advisory board members were appointed to broaden the expertise available to CAFF. Quarterly advisory board meetings were held to disseminate and share the latest research concerning airway issues. Work is currently ongoing to develop an infant airway screening protocol where every newborn will be screened at birth. Work also is being conducted to create an airway center of excellence which would develop standards of care in diagnosing and treating children with breathing disorders as well as being resident to medical specialists dealing with the most complex breathing issues.
- $117,318 spent. During 2024, CAFF continued to raise awareness of the prevalence of upper airway breathing disorders by attending and participating in conferences and meetings with other entities promoting education and learning. CAFF has put particular emphasis on identifying problematic children under 30 months when it is easiest to correct any issues before they become systemic morbidities. Brochures and posters targeting parents were available for distribution to dental and pediatric offices, and a free CAFF newsletter was provided to over 3,000 registrants subscribed to the publication. In addition,our social media following is over 3,000 users on four platforms. During 2024, CAFF co-hosted online webinars with parents and clinicians with hundreds of attendees. A short documentary film was produced featuring the consequences of misdiagnosing airway disordered breathing.
- During 2024, CAFF added additional web casts featuring luminaries in the field (including members of the advisory board) talking about various upper airway respiratory issues affecting over 400 million children globally. At yearend, the site had over 75 web casts. This endeavor provides information to parents who think their child may have airway issues, often being initially identified by snoring, sleeping with an open mouth, disrupted sleep, etc. This accomplishment is a subset of the CAFF web site development effort and expenses associated with this public service are included in item number one.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 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 December 2024.
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 August 2021.
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.
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