Ighl
Legal name: Independent Group Home Living Program Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 112458584
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Manorville, NY, US
- Phone
- 631-878-8900
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Group Homes
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $97,720,788
- Expenses
- $96,835,739
- Assets
- $91,311,567
- Liabilities
- $61,275,451
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
31 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WALTER STOCKTON (CEO/PRESIDENT)
- LISA MEYER FERTAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ROBERT POLICASTRO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- LINDA GANGI (ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- WALTER STOCKTON (CEO/PRESIDENT): $807,372 total reported compensation
- MARY BETH LICHTNEGER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $584,958 total reported compensation
- LISA MEYER FERTAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $536,262 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide the highest quality of care, supports, and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so that they can realize their full potential, and become contributing members of their community.
What it reported doing in 2024
Residential programs - ira community based residences are neighborhood homes that allow people with developmental disabilities to experience the security and comfort of a homelike environment, while receiving the specialized care they require. Each residence is home to between 3 and 12 men and women and a staff of trained professionals. It is the common goal of each home to incorporate chores and skills necessary for independent living into the daily lives of each person. Responsibility, self discipline and cooperation are stressed at the homes. Each person is urged to contribute to the completion of day-to-day household chores, working alongside their housemates and members of the staff. Self-esteem is further developed as every resident is encouraged to care for his or her own grooming and household chores. In specially constructed homes for nonambulatory individuals, every feature is designed to provide maximum mobility and safety. Designed to exceed strict federal guidelines, these homes are unique structures for people with unique challenges. Many people require special care and the ighl staff is focused on ensuring that their physical and emotional needs are met. The ambitious goals of ighl's residential programs are to encourage growth toward living more independent lives while providing a genuine sense of belonging; and, most importantly, to continually nurture each person's physical, psychological and emotional growth.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 97% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 85
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 89.5%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 89.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $86.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $807K · 31 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 21 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.