Als Association Mission Statement

The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association is a health and welfare non-profit organization dedicated to “leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships” (ALS.org). ALS, more commonly called Lou Gherig’s disease, is a debilitating neurological disease resulting in neuron atrophy over time. The ALS Association’s mission is “to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy, while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support”

The ALS Association’s spending aligns with its three-fold mission of research, care, and advocacy. In 2017, the association had total functional expenses of $34,974,730 (ALS Association 2017 Financial Statements 6). The association spent a total of $28,530,038 (6) on program services resulting in a program service ratio of 81.8%. This ratio reflects that most of its expenses for 2017 were related to its mission. The association’s program services are categorized by research, patient and community services, and public and professional education to reflect its three-fold mission. Focusing on research first, readers can see that 58.8% of program service expenses were research related totaling $16,779,742 (6). Though this was a slight decrease of around 2% from 2016, this still shows that ALS Association commits more than half its expenses to research funding. The largest portion of its research expenses were grant awards which are expensed “as the researchers substantially meet the terms and conditions of the grant during the grand period” (10). Grant awards expensed for 2017 were $16,044,063 (6) which was a slight decrease of 3.4% from 2016. Though it was a decrease, it is not too

The second insight gained from ALS Association’s financial statements is that it is a highly liquid organization. It has a current liquidity ratio of 18.4 which is high for any organization. One of the main reasons that its liquidity ratio is so high is it has total investments in marketable securities of $88,965,198 making up 80.6% of its total assets (3). This total is comprised of 60% mutual funds, 12% equity securities, 16% corporate bonds, and 12% government agency obligations (15). It recognized investment income of $5,791,723 in 2017, making up 17% of total support and revenue (4). However, this form of income is risky as ALS recognized a loss in 2016 (5). Though the ALS Association has the liquidity to cover its liabilities, the ratio indicates there are spending inefficiencies in the non-profit. Another way to analyze ALS Association’s liquidity is analyzing its net assets. 79% of its net assets are unrestricted, 29% are temporarily restricted, and 1% are permanently restricted. Unrestricted assets have increased by 5% since last year while temporarily restricted have decreased by 6% (3). One can conclude that because most of ALS Association’s assets are unrestricted, they can be utilized in whichever way the association deems