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Springboard Healthlab

EIN 87-1818608 · Richmond, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood85 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

SPRINGBOARD HEALTHLAB'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY BY FOSTERING BOLD IDEAS AND LAUNCHING HIGHIMPACT SOLUTIONS. THE ORGANIZATION IS AN INCUBATOR FOR BOLD NEW PROJECTS FOCUSED ON STRUCTURAL OR SYSTEMS CHANGE TO IMPROVE HEALTH EQUITY.

Income
$2.0 million
Spending
$1.8 million
Spent on programs
89%
Reserves
4.2 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 69%
Employees
16
Volunteers
9
Highest pay
$178,193, executive dir.

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

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 62% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 4.2 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 12% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 10% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 65% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    89% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    9 of 9 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (2)
  1. $1.3 million spent. Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC)In terms of impact, Springboard continues to have outsized impact given its size, first and foremost through BHOC. As part of the national self-testing program, TTMH.org, (an expansion of BHOCs TakeMeHome program led by Emory and funded by CDC), we have helped transform HIV testing in the US by playing a major role in the development of a national program. The program directly impacts the 164,000 individuals who received 352,000 HIV test kits in 2024, in particular the 26% of those individuals who had no prior testing history. (continued on Schedule O) BHOCs role in this project was to develop the website design and content (based on the BHOC TakeMeHome model), and also provides customer service and participant feedback for the project. Through our TakeMeHome project, thousands of individuals have tested for STIs and HIV. Hundreds of new HIV and STI cases have been identified through these programs. We also expanded our user journey to include linkage to PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophlyaxis), allowing for local health department partners to include locally-tailored resources. Our partnership with dating apps is reaching an estimated 2.5M men who have sex with men (MSM) dating app users with app product features and sexual health information and messages. We worked with Emory to gather data on the uptake of these features and published this article in AIDS and Behavior in early 2024. In 2024, we expanded our app partners to include Chispa and HER. One example of BHOCs impact is working with Sniffies to add options for doxyPEP (a medication to reduce STI transmission) into their profile fields. We worked with eight different apps to send information about free HIV self-testing and other sexual health and harm reduction messages throughout the year. In 2024, BHOC began global expansion of our self-testing model using dating apps for promotion. In partnership with Grindr, BHOC was awarded a small grant to work with our dating app partner to identify, vet, and provide support for in-country partners in other parts of the world to offer a similar model as our TTMH program utilizing Grindrs in-app button directing its users to order free HIV self-tests from the TTMH.org platform.BHOCs NiceAF project is an effort focused on addressing stigma, discrimination, and other negative experiences on dating apps. NiceAFs work in 2024 focused on implementing our 2023 recommendations about substance use on dating apps, which touched on stigma, communication about substance use, access to resources, and recommendations for fundamental changes on apps relating to features that affect users experiences on the apps. In this work, we centered inequities relating to race, criminalization and marginalization regarding who is affected and how people are affected by the complexities of substance use on dating apps. We gathered data from dating app users, harm reduction leaders and dating apps. In 2024, we worked with Sniffies to add profile options related to clear communication about drug use preferences as well as carrying of harm reduction supplies like naloxone. We also worked with another app, Squirt, to send a message to educate its users about the availability of naloxone. We met with several other apps to prioritize these recommendations. Highlights include an invitation to the White House to participate in a domestic and international convening on mpox as well as an invitation to participate in a White House summit on HIV in the Latino community.We have also made substantial efforts to disseminate findings from our work that has substantially increased the visibility of Springboard and BHOC. Key dissemination and external activities include:STI self-collection with lab testing paper published - Sexually Transmitted DiseasesIncreased uptake of sexual health fields on gay dating apps AIDS and Behavior Ethics article regarding partnership with dating apps published Medical HumanitiesYear 1 findings from national HIV self-test kit distribution published - MMWRInvited to speak at a plenary at the 2024 National STD Prevention conferenceWhite House visit for September 2024 mpox conveningWhite House visit for September 2024 Latino HIV Summit
  2. $352,954 spent. Other Springboard projects:The Community Health Leadership Initiative (CHLI) program is transforming the sexual and drug user health workforce sector in San Francisco, and is being held up as a model for the state. This program was created through formative research and development by Facente Consulting, then grown and expanded under Springboard. In 2024, Springboard continued its work via a subcontract from San Francisco AIDS Foundation to support education for people with lived experience new to the workforce. The Academy program was integrated into CHLI to create a robust and cohesive workforce development program. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O) The program offers a series of trainings, mentorship, and 1:1 support for people interested in starting work in this sector. During 2024, our CHLI Director worked with San Francisco Dept of Health a planned transition for program into an open Request for Proposals so Springboard could complete its incubation and graduation of the program to another home. In 2024, we launched our first microgrants program, supporting three individuals with lived experience to pilot their solutions for improving community health with small grants and technical support. In 2024, Springboard was awarded a subcontract through the national HIV capacity building centers; one is based in San Francisco. We began two lines of work: developing a toolkit to support health departments and community-based organization on linkage practices from HIV self-testing to other prevention and treatment services; the other was supporting the development of a mentorship program for managers of HIV programs.

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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 October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 2022.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.

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