Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE THAT WILL PREDICT, PREVENT, REVERSE, AND CURE DISEASES OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM SUCH AS AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, ALLERGY, AND ASTHMA.
- Income
- $81.3 million
- Spending
- $80.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 83%
- Reserves
- -1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 70%
- Employees
- 329
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $5.8 million, chief executive officer vmfh
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 42 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 40% of what it owns.
Living within its means
12 of 15Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1583% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 22% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 14 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
0 of 10Did not give 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
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 June 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 (4)
- $45.4 million spent. TRANSLATIONAL IMMUNOLOGY AND ADVANCEMENTS OF THE IMMUNE TOLERANCE NETWORK (ITN) ARE HIGHLIGHTED BELOW:FUNDING FOR THE IMMUNE TOLERANCE NETWORK (ITN) WAS INITIALLY AWARDED TO JERRY NEPOM, MD, PHD, AT BRI IN 2014 BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES (NIAID) OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH). IT WAS LATER RENEWED FOR A SECOND GRANT CYCLE IN 2021, PROVIDING APPROXIMATELY $27 MILLION ANNUALLY TO SUPPORT ITN. THIS RESEARCH CONSORTIUM, ESTABLISHED IN 1999, PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING NEW TOLEROGENIC APPROACHES FOR TREATING AND PREVENTING DISEASES IN THREE CLINICAL AREAS: ASTHMA AND ALLERGIC DISEASES, AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, AND IMMUNE-MEDIATED REJECTION OF TRANSPLANTED SOLID ORGANS, TISSUES, AND CELLS. BRI, AS THE PRIME RECIPIENT OF THIS GRANT, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE OVERALL GRANT FROM NIAID, INCLUDING OVERSEEING ALL ASPECTS OF THE NETWORK'S INFRASTRUCTURE. AS OF 2022 FOLLOWING THE RETIREMENT OF DR. NEPOM, DR. JANE BUCKNER ASSUMED THE ROLE OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE ITN GRANT. DR. BUCKNER SERVES ON THE ITN STEERING COMMITTEE (NSC) AND THE ITN NETWORK EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (NEC), AND PLAYED AN ACTIVE ROLE IN 2025 IN BOTH COMMITTEES AT ITS BIANNUAL FULL MEETINGS, PLAYING A CRITICAL ROLE IN TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS NETWORK GOALS AND DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO MEET NETWORK OBJECTIVES.ITN CONTINUES TO ADVANCE INNOVATIVE CLINICAL TRIALS AND MECHANISTIC STUDIES AIMED AT DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO PREVENT AND TREAT IMMUNE-MEDIATED DISEASES, INCLUDING AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, ALLERGIC DISEASES, AND TRANSPLANT REJECTION. THROUGH A LARGE INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF CLINICAL AND RESEARCH CENTERS, ITN CONDUCTS COMPLEX MULTICENTER CLINICAL TRIALS DESIGNED TO TEST THERAPIES THAT CAN REPROGRAM THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO PROMOTE LONG-TERM IMMUNE TOLERANCE RATHER THAN LIFELONG IMMUNOSUPPRESSION.KEY OUTCOMES DURING THIS PERIOD INCLUDE:MEASURABLE IMPACT:ITN'S STATED MISSION IS TO ACCELERATE THE CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPIES THAT PROMOTE IMMUNE TOLERANCE. ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK IS THE NETWORK'S LANDMARK LEAP (LEARNING EARLY ABOUT PEANUT ALLERGY) CLINICAL TRIAL, WHICH DEMONSTRATED THAT EARLY INTRODUCTION OF PEANUT-CONTAINING FOODS IN INFANCY CAN DRAMATICALLY REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING PEANUT ALLERGY. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY INFORMED UPDATED U.S. CLINICAL GUIDELINES RECOMMENDING EARLY PEANUT INTRODUCTION FOR INFANTS AT RISK. IN 2025, NEW POPULATION-LEVEL ANALYSES BECAME AVAILABLE CONFIRMING THE REAL-WORLD IMPACT OF THESE GUIDELINES. THESE DATA INDICATE THAT NEW CASES OF PEANUT ALLERGY IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE DECLINED BY APPROXIMATELY 43%, MEANING THAT AN ESTIMATED 57,000 FEWER CHILDREN ARE LIVING WITH PEANUT ALLERGY BECAUSE OF THIS CHANGE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE DRIVEN BY ITN-SUPPORTED RESEARCH.THE ITN CROSS-NETWORK INTEGRATION: SINCE 2014, ITN HAS EXCELLED WITH A STRONG FOCUS ON METICULOUS PLANNING AND COLLABORATION ACROSS ITN'S MAJOR CENTERS, LOCATED IN SEATTLE (BRI), SAN FRANCISCO (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO), DURHAM (DUKE UNIVERSITY), BOSTON (BRIGHAM WOMEN'S HOSPITAL), ATLANTA (EMORY UNIVERSITY), AND ANN ARBOR (UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN). THAT SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION CONTINUED WITH THE FOLLOWING KEY OUTCOMES DURING THIS PERIOD:1. IN LINE WITH THE NIH DATA SHARING POLICY, THE ITN COORDINATING CENTER REVIEWED AND APPROVED 16 SAMPLE AND DATA SHARING REQUESTS THROUGH ITN TRIALSHARE, ITN'S DATA-SHARING PORTAL.2. OPERATIONS AND CLINICAL TRIAL SUPPORT: THE ITN COORDINATING CENTER AT BRI ISSUED 279 SUBAWARD/SUBAWARD ACTIONS DURING THIS REPORTING PERIOD TO SUPPORT 2025 INFRASTRUCTURE, ACTIVE ITN CLINICAL TRIALS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORTING ITN MECHANISTIC TRIALS.3. SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING / PARTNERSHIPS: THE ITN COORDINATING CENTER CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON IDENTIFYING AND ADVANCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING AND STRATEGIC FUNDING PARTNERSHIPS.A) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING: IN 2025, THE ITN COORDINATING CENTER AT BRI SUCCESSFULLY SECURED TWO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING AWARDS TOTALING $4.6 MILLION. THESE FUNDS WILL SUPPORT ITN'S TWO-YEAR CAT ALLERGEN IMMUNOTHERAPY TRIAL, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO OPEN IN EARLY 2026, ALONG WITH SEVERAL SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOMIC MECHANISTIC PROJECTS TIED TO RECENTLY COMPLETED ITN AUTOIMMUNE TRIALS. B) PARTNERSHIPS: BUILDING ON PARTNERSHIP DISCUSSIONS REPORTED LAST YEAR, ITN FINALIZED A $3 MILLION EXTERNAL FUNDING AGREEMENT IN 2025 TO SUPPORT ONE OF THE TRIALS. THE STUDY IS NOW ACTIVE, AND THE ITN HAS SUCCESSFULLY INVOICED AND RECEIVED PAYMENT UNDER THE AGREEMENT. 4. PUBLICATION ACTIVITY: IN TOTAL, 21 ITN PUBLICATIONS WERE PUBLISHED DURING THIS REPORTING PERIOD IN PRESTIGIOUS RESEARCH JOURNALS AND PRESENTED AT DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCES. THESE PUBLICATIONS REPRESENTED ITN RESEARCH IN ALL THERAPEUTIC FOCUS AREAS: AUTOIMMUNITY, TRANSPLANTATION, AND ALLERGY.
- $10.7 million spent. INTERVENTIONAL IMMUNOLOGYSTUDYING HEALTH TO UNDERSTAND DISEASEIN JUNE 2025, A TEAM OF BRI SCIENTISTS LEAD BY JANE BUCKNER, MD, CATE SPEAKE, PHD, MEGAN SMITHMYER, PHD, AND ALEX HU, PHD, PUBLISHED FINDINGS FROM THE SOUND LIFE PROJECT, A UNIQUE LONGITUDINAL STUDY INVESTIGATING HOW HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEMS DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER. THE STUDY FOLLOWED 100 HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS FOR TWO YEARS, AND PARTICIPANTS DONATED BLOOD SAMPLES OVER 10 VISITS AND SELF-REPORTED INFORMATION ABOUT DIET, EXERCISE, TRAVEL AND HEALTH THROUGH WEEKLY SURVEYS.IN THIS FIRST PUBLICATION, THE INVESTIGATORS MEASURED 174 DIFFERENT TYPES OF IMMUNE CELLS THAT CIRCULATE IN THE BLOOD. THEY DETERMINED THAT 81 OF THESE IMMUNE CELL TYPES DID NOT CHANGE OVER TIME WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL AND COMPARED THE FREQUENCIES OF THOSE IMMUNE CELL TYPES ACROSS THE GROUP OF 100 HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, THEY FOUND THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS COULD BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR DISTINCT GROUPS, CALLED IMMUNOTYPES, BASED ON THE CELL POPULATIONS IN THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FEATURES THAT DEFINED THE FOUR IMMUNOTYPES, THE SOUND LIFE PROJECT INVESTIGATORS ALSO ANALYZED WHICH GENES WERE EXPRESSED AND WHICH PROTEINS WERE PRODUCED IN THE IMMUNE CELLS OF THE PARTICIPANTS.THE RESULTS FROM THE SOUND LIFE PROJECT HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM IN ORDER TO PREDICT, PREVENT AND CURE DISEASES. THE RESEARCH TEAM PLANS ON CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS TO SEE HOW THE IMMUNE SYSTEM CHANGES OVER TIME AND USE THE DATA COLLECTED FROM THE STUDY TO ANSWER SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN BOTH HEALTH AND DISEASE.
- $7.1 million spent. FUNDAMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY OR BASIC DISCOVERYUNDERSTANDING HOW TARGETING SPECIFIC REGULATORY CELLS COULD LEAD TO NEW WAYS TO TREAT SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE)IN NOVEMBER 2024, STEVE ZIEGLER, PHD, A PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR IN BRI'S CENTER FOR FUNDAMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY, RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH TO INVESTIGATE HOW A SUBSET OF REGULATORY CELLS IS DYSFUNCTIONAL IN CONTROLLING AUTOANTIBODY PRODUCTION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH SLE.THIS WORK BUILDS OFF DECADES OF DR. ZIEGLER'S PREVIOUS RESEARCH INTO FOXP3, A CRITICAL GENE THAT REGULATES THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF REGULATORY T CELLS (TREGS), WHICH HELP PREVENT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM FROM ATTACKING THE BODY'S OWN TISSUES. DR. ZIEGLER'S RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT AN ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF FOXP3 MAY CONTRIBUTE TO TREG DYSFUNCTION AND INCREASE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES.DR. ZIEGLER HAS IDENTIFIED A SPECIFIC GROUP OF REGULATORY CELLS, WHICH NORMALLY HELP CONTROL ANTIBODY PRODUCTION, THAT ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY IN SLE PATIENTS. SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THESE CELLS ALSO CAUSE LUPUS-LIKE SYMPTOMS IN LAB MODELS. THE GRANT WILL SUPPORT A STUDY USING THESE LAB MODELS AND SAMPLES FROM SLE PATIENTS TO UNCOVER NEW POTENTIAL PATHWAYS TO TREAT THE DISEASE.
- $3.8 million spent. CLINICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM BRI OVERSEES THE CLINICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM AT VIRGINIA MASON MEDICAL CENTER (VMMC), UNIQUELY COMBINING THE EXPERTISE OF A WORLD-RENOWNED MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE WITH THE CARE OF A HEALTHCARE QUALITY LEADER. THE CLINICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM SUPPORTS VMMC CLINICAL INVESTIGATORS IN STUDIES ACROSS A WIDE VARIETY OF AUTOIMMUNE AND IMMUNE-MEDIATED DISEASES AND CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS A BROAD RANGE OF OTHER DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER AND CARDIAC DISEASE. THE CLINICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM STAFF ANNUALLY ENROLLS OVER 2,200 STUDY PARTICIPANTS INTO VMMC TRIALS.INNOVATION FUND AWARDESTABLISHED IN 2023, THE INNOVATION FUND AWARD IS GIVEN TWICE A YEAR TO INTERNAL RECIPIENTS AT BRI. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL ADVANCE WORK ACROSS OUR INSTITUTION, THROUGH THE FUNDING OF COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS. EACH AWARD IS FUNDED BY PHILANTHROPY. BRI'S REGULAR TRACK AND RESEARCH TRACK FACULTY ARE AWARD ELIGIBLE. PROJECTS ARE REQUIRED TO INCLUDE TWO OR MORE BRI FACULTY AND ADDRESS INNOVATIONS USEFUL TO MULTIPLE RESEARCH GROUPS WITHIN THE INSTITUTE. FURTHER, IT IS REQUIRED THAT THE PROTOCOLS AND RESULTS GENERATED IN THE PROJECT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL BRI INVESTIGATORS. IN THE FALL OF 2024, ALLYSON BYRD, PHD, AND JAMES LORD, MD, PHD, RECEIVED AN INNOVATION FUND AWARD TO EXAMINE TWO DIFFERENT TOOLS TO STUDY THE MICROBES AND IMMUNE SYSTEM CELLS INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD). THE TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE WHETHER THEY CAN USE EXPANDED BULK SEQUENCING INSTEAD OF SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING WHEN STUDYING GENE EXPRESSION WITHIN HUMAN CELLS AND BACTERIA. USING EXPANDED BULK SEQUENCING WOULD PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION FROM EACH CELL TYPE BUT AT A FRACTION OF THE COST OF SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING, ALLOWING SCIENTISTS TO ANSWER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT IBD IN THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE WAY. THESE TOOLS COULD POTENTIALLY HELP DRS. BYRD AND LORD ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE HOW VARIOUS BACTERIA ACT DIFFERENTLY IN PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT IBD AND WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE BACTERIA INSIDE DENDRITIC CELLS OF PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT CROHN'S DISEASE OR ITS PREDISPOSING GENE.DR. BYRD WAS ALSO AWARDED AN INNOVATION FUND AWARD WITH CATE SPEAKE, PHD, TO TEST A DATABASE THAT ENABLES SCIENTISTS TO USE ANONYMIZED ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHRS) TO ANSWER RESEARCH QUESTIONS. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL USE AI AND MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS TO CLEAN, SORT AND REFORMAT DATA QUICKLY, ALLOWING RESEARCHERS TO USE LARGER DATA SETS TO SEARCH FOR MEANINGFUL PATTERNS. IN THE PILOT STUDY USING THESE TOOLS, DRS. SPEAKE AND BYRD ARE USING EHRS TO TRY AND ANSWER TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS: 1) DO ANTIBIOTICS MAKE CHECKPOINT INHIBITOR THERAPY LESS EFFECTIVE FOR COLORECTAL CANCER? AND 2) DOES WILDFIRE SMOKE TRIGGER RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS FLARES?
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 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 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 June 2025.
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 1958.
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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