First Lutheran Church Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237031377
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Fargo, ND, USA
- Phone
- 7012357389
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $906,689
- Expenses
- $408,938
- Assets
- $7,286,158
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SINDY KELLER (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- JILL INMAN (DIRECTOR)
- MARYANN PHILLIPS (SECRETARY/TREASURER)
- KEN RETZER (DIRECTOR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To expand the witness and mission of the first lutheran church in the community, region and world.
What it reported doing in 2025
As part of the community outreach, education and mission of the foundation, it also distributed $13,682 to ywca cass clay for new bunk beds, $8,500 to feed my starving children for meal costs, $10,000 to new life center for a security enhancements, $10,000 to united way of cass clay for backpacks and school supplies, $7,000 to jeremiah program for family engagement activities, $5,000 to lake agassiz habitat for humanity for building supplies, $12,000 to emergency food pantry for baskets, $10,000 to sanford health foundation for b uilding supplies, $10,000 to furniture mission for expansion, $10,000 to heart of clay for new family home, $10,000 to farm in the dell for tree rows and garden supplies, $10,000 to legacy childrens foundation for food pantry and care packages for homeless youth, $5,000 to matthews voice project to support local homeless students, $5,000 to fm regional chaplaincy to support chaplaincy for first responders, $10,000 to heart-n-soul community cafe for lunch serving lunch bunch program, $8,000 to soul solutions recovery for family programming for substance abuse, $5,000 to fargo moorhead rotary for recital with a cause, $10,000 to hero for freedom to rise program, $5,000 to fargo elim for patio repairs, and several smaller grants under $5,000 to various local charities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 91
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.5%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 81.3%; rating input score 81; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 54.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.82; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.5% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $365K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 16 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.