Guiding Light Mentoring

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471683576
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5135419777
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$373,232
Expenses
$270,381
Assets
$368,712
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LATISHA OWENS (FOUNDER & PR): $50,000 total reported compensation
  • JALEN ROSE (TREASURER): $1,417 total reported compensation
  • RACHAEL DUBOSE (SECRETARY): $250 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is empowering young people to become the next generation of leaders by equipping them with skills and resources to make a positive and lasting impact in thier lives.

What it reported doing in 2025

Youth education and wellness program - personalized mentor-mentee relationships help youth set and achieve personal, academic and career goals, with a focus on job readiness and family dynamics. The program prioritizes the health and emotional intelligence of youth, exposing them to activities such as arts and crafts, group outings, dance and sports. 47 youth, 31 volunteers and 4 contracted staff

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 46
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 70%; rating input score 70; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.6%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 10 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $270K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.