GOLD2023

DetecTogether Inc

Saving lives through early cancer detection

Westborough, MA   |  www.detectogether.org
GuideStar Charity Check

DetecTogether Inc

EIN: 26-2873903


Mission

DetecTogether is a nonprofit organization saving lives by teaching people how to detect cancer early. Its 3 Steps Detect education harnesses the power of early detection by teaching people how to recognize early warning signs of cancer and collaborate with doctors to accelerate the time to diagnosis and receive more effective treatment. It has led to the early detection of cancer as well as many other illness. It is well established that early detection greatly improves cancer survival rates and quality of life. Early detection also reduces the cost of treatment ultimately absorbed by individuals, insurers, corporations and health care systems.

Notes from the nonprofit

Want to know more? Visit DetecTogether.org or email [email protected]. Follow DetecTogether on Facebook and Twitter to learn about your role in earlier cancer detection.

Ruling year info

2008

President/Executive Director

Tricia Laursen

Founder and Chief Volunteer

James Coghlin Sr.

Main address

53 Otis Street

Westborough, MA 01581 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

The 15-40 Connection Inc

EIN

26-2873903

Subject area info

Public health

Cancers

Education services

Public affairs

Population served info

Adolescents

Adults

NTEE code info

Cancer (G30)

Educational Services and Schools - Other (B90)

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (W01)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Many types of cancer have a high survival rate if they are detected and treated at an early stage. Of the five most common cancers diagnosed in the U.S. every year (breast, colorectal, lung, melanoma, prostate), four have survival rates of 90% and above when detected early. A lack of awareness of early cancer symptoms results in many easily detectable forms of cancer being undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or diagnosed late, resulting in avoidable deaths. Diagnosis begins with patient awareness and action. When patients fail to recognize and act on suspicious cancer symptoms, their cancer is able to advance to stages that are more difficult to treat and less likely to be cured. DetecTogether is saving lives by teaching people how to recognize early cancer symptoms, when to seek care and how to collaborate with providers to accelerate the time to an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

3 Steps Detect

Signature educational program teaching individuals how to detect cancer early. Early detection starts with your actions. You are the one who will notice a change in your health. You then will likely think about your symptoms and decide to engage with the health care system or not. Knowing when to seek health care and how to effectively collaborate with your health care provider are keys to early detection. Empowered and active patients play a significant role in improving the quality of care they receive and saving their own lives.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Adults

Where we work

Awards

Audesse Award 2018

Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncologists

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Early cancer detection is a lifesaving advantage all deserve. We do not want anyone to lose their life to a delayed cancer diagnosis.

There are more than 100 types of cancer and two methods for detecting them early: screenings and recognizing and acting on cancer symptoms. Screenings can detect cancer when it is asymptomatic. They are available for breast, colon, cervical, skin, prostate, lung cancers. A majority of cancer is diagnosed only after it presents with symptoms. Recognizing and acting on cancer symptoms early saves and improve lives. Yet, would you recognize a cancer symptom?

DetecTogether is deploying education programs to empower all with the ability to seize the power of early cancer detection. In the process it is changing the cancer conversation and defining the important role the patient plays in diagnosis. Detecting and treating cancer early can also reduce costs to both the patient and the general public.

DetecTogether has defined the most common cancer symptom, when to seek healthcare, how to collaborate with a provider and play an active role in saving and improving your own life. Our educational outreach is built around our core program, 3 Steps Detect.

To cause change, we are building awareness of the impact of delayed diagnosis and delivering engaging education programs that provide actionable steps that empower early detection. The education is delivered online, virtually, in person with the support of on-site trainers and through digital and social media outlets. Our train the trainer certification program, is particularly effective in high schools. Certified teachers are able to download curriculum and incorporate it into their lesson plans annually.

To bring the education across the country, we are focused on building on success and advancing our impact while adding the resources required to empower all with the lifesaving advantage of early cancer detection. DetecTogether is using its current resources to cause the greatest impact with the largest number of people as possible. To do so, we prioritize and target audiences that provide access to larger groups and those at higher risk for cancer such as firefighters.

High school and university audiences reach young adults who are particularly vulnerable to a delayed diagnosis due to the perception of invincibility and attempts to self-diagnose symptoms. Learning 3 Steps Detect provides them with knowledge and habits that reward for a lifetime.

Corporate and community group audiences are most receptive to online and virtual trainings that allow participants to learn anywhere at any time. In these audiences, 3 Steps Detect training changes their perception about their role in their own health care and provides a timeline for seeking care when subtle health changes persist. While invincibility is less of an issue, prioritizing timely action in response to subtle health changes that persist are significant issues that 3 Steps Detect corrects. 3 Steps Detect has also led to the early detection of heart and vascular disease for some of these participants, likely saving their lives.

Firefighters are 9% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 14% more likely to die from cancer than the general public. They are particularly grateful for 3 Steps Detect training. Fire Departments in general are confined to specific geographic areas and many have limited training opportunities. DetecTogether works with local leaders to determine the best education delivery model for their departments.

DetecTogether digital and social media engages audiences across the country. We target groups that are unaware of the importance of the patient’s role in early detection, as well as those who have been taught 3 Steps Detect to reinforce lessons learned.

With the support of a talented board and staff, we have both the guidance and expertise to develop effective and engaging education programs and deliver them cost effectively. Collectively, we have expertise in medicine and healthcare, education and training, finance, marketing and communications, leadership and management, fundraising, entrepreneurship, and public relations. We have invested in technology and people that allow us to execute efficiently and develop and deliver quality education that is driving change.

In addition, our culture of “say it straight” and a true appreciation for constructive input, new ideas and connections, we are fortunate to have an extended group of passionate advisors and advocates. They include cancer patients who share their experiences so that people can experience 3 Steps Detect through their lives. They are also technology and learning management system consultants and advisors who have felt the impact of delayed diagnosis in their own lives and want to help others. Philanthropists drive all that we do. From those who provided angel funding and continue to support DetecTogether to our new donors to the annual fund, we are grateful for every donor.

DetecTogether has:
• Defined the most common cancer symptom so there is no need to memorize lists of symptoms for specific cancer types.
• Developed and tested three actionable and easily understood steps for early cancer detection.
• Repositioned the patient’s role in their own health care.
• Developed additional trainings to support 3 Steps Detect to support patient action. Training modules such as “Your Job as a Patient” provided additional tips and support for developing collaborative patient-doctor interactions that accelerate time to diagnosis and save and improve lives.
• Hired development, communications and education professionals to further improve performance and drive success in saving more lives.
• Expanded its board of directors to add additional expertise to the team as well as seasoned guidance.
• Changed the cancer conversation. People are talking about symptoms today more than ever before.

What next?
• Continue to drive scale. More education offered on a learning management system (LMS) platform to reach more people sooner and cost effectively.
• Continue to expand growth and impact in young adult, corporate and community groups and at risk industry groups.
The patient’s role is central to early cancer detection but so too is the personal interaction between the patient and the practitioner. Policy that supports the early detection and diagnostic process is needed.
With additional funding, enhance outreach through social and digital media.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

DetecTogether Inc
Fiscal year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
Financial documents
2021 2020 15-40 Connection 2019 15-40 Connection 2017 15-40 Connection, Inc 2017 Final FS.pdf
done  Yes, financials were audited by an independent accountant. info

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

32.42

Average of 23.88 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

8.9

Average of 20.4 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

12%

Average of 16% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

DetecTogether Inc

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

DetecTogether Inc

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

DetecTogether Inc

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of DetecTogether Inc’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

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Business model indicators

Profitability info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation $78,761 $453,025 $482,116 $918,323 -$195,213
As % of expenses 6.0% 32.1% 35.0% 61.9% -9.6%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation $54,726 $435,127 $479,760 $915,967 -$198,366
As % of expenses 4.1% 30.4% 34.7% 61.6% -9.8%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $1,386,396 $1,758,981 $1,934,854 $2,393,158 $1,930,325
Total revenue, % change over prior year 11.0% 26.9% 10.0% 23.7% -19.3%
Program services revenue 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 0.6% 0.8%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 1.3% 1.1% 1.7% 1.5% 3.2%
Government grants 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.9% 0.0%
All other grants and contributions 98.1% 98.9% 97.8% 92.0% 93.6%
Other revenue 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $1,305,589 $1,411,953 $1,379,187 $1,483,599 $2,030,018
Total expenses, % change over prior year 14.7% 8.1% -2.3% 7.6% 36.8%
Personnel 51.0% 53.2% 71.7% 65.9% 46.2%
Professional fees 20.5% 18.0% 16.0% 15.7% 4.7%
Occupancy 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Interest 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 28.5% 28.8% 12.3% 18.4% 49.1%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total expenses (after depreciation) $1,329,624 $1,429,851 $1,381,543 $1,485,955 $2,033,171
One month of savings $108,799 $117,663 $114,932 $123,633 $169,168
Debt principal payment $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Fixed asset additions $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,964
Total full costs (estimated) $1,438,423 $1,547,514 $1,496,475 $1,609,588 $2,210,303

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Months of cash 16.8 18.4 22.2 22.6 8.9
Months of cash and investments 21.9 23.6 27.9 34.9 23.7
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets 19.9 22.3 27.0 32.5 22.6
Balance sheet composition info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Cash $1,824,901 $2,162,287 $2,552,413 $2,799,623 $1,497,152
Investments $555,014 $620,375 $659,782 $1,519,689 $2,516,766
Receivables $26,110 $42,789 $193,828 $135,818 $89,875
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $112,895 $83,538 $83,538 $83,538 $91,502
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 79.3% 89.0% 91.9% 94.7% 89.9%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 3.6% 3.9% 3.2% 4.5% 3.0%
Unrestricted net assets $2,193,653 $2,628,780 $3,108,540 $4,024,507 $3,826,141
Temporarily restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets $148,271 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $148,271 $94,216 $195,828 $235,234 $167,375
Total net assets $2,341,924 $2,722,996 $3,304,368 $4,259,741 $3,993,516

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Material data errors No No No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

President/Executive Director

Tricia Laursen

Founder and Chief Volunteer

James Coghlin

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

DetecTogether Inc

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

DetecTogether Inc

Highest paid employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of highest paid employee data for this organization

DetecTogether Inc

Board of directors
as of 01/19/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

James Coghlin Sr.

William Durgin

Christopher Palermo

Karen Albritton

Christopher Coghlin

Eric Coghlin

Peter Deckers

Michael Davin

Patrick McCarty

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/29/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Gender identity
Female

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Gender identity
Male

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/30/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.