Just Living Recovery

Legal name: JUUST Living DBA JUST Living Recovery

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
834459261
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Lakewood, CO, US
Phone
720.408.8702
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$210,142
Expenses
$239,033
Assets
$595,810
Liabilities
$232,758

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Linda Barringer (Executive Director)
  • Michael Parker (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Linda Barringer (Executive Director): $61,500 total reported compensation
  • Grace Sasser (Director): $8,425 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Just Living Recovery (JLR) is dedicated to creating a clean sober-living residential environment for recovery and healing from substance abuse. With an eye toward equity, we support marginalized populations, especially LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Success milestones for 2025 include the following: * House and support 27 residents, of up to 15 max at a time. In 2025, JLR housed 27 unique individual residents and reached nearly 100 additional people in recovery through referrals. JLR had a waiting list of 12 people at the end of the year. * The JLR residence has been full more consistently for the first time, due to the completion of almost all building renovations as well as the more efficient and effective process for filling sleeping rooms when they are vacated.* 100% of housed residents had a recovery plan with individualized success metrics in abstinence, financial stability, and active participation in the life of the community. All residents at JLR in 2025 (including current residents and those who exited during the year) have an individualized recovery plan addressing their specific recovery pathway.* 60% of residents will stay for at least 90 days, the recommended minimum stay for positive outcomes for people in recovery. In 2025, the average length of stay for residents was 354 days, with the median number of days at 140. Both metrics well are above the recommended minimum of 90 days.* 80% of former JLR residents who responded to a follow-up survey in 2025 were employed either full or part-time and were in a stable living situation.* 80% of the former JLR residents who responded to the 2025 follow-up survey were sober, with 70% sober for more than one year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.8%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -13.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.49; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.8% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $203K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.