Lazarus Project Inc The

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010759717
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Mendota Heights, MN, USA
Phone
6514521500
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$843,909
Expenses
$932,268
Assets
$353,261
Liabilities
$317,992

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID SERRANO (PRESIDENT)
  • ASNETH OMARE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PEGGY HOWELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ELIZABETH LOOD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PEGGY HOWELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $94,213 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH LOOD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $78,306 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA EDEBURN (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $25,997 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To operate as an applied behavior analysis therapy center serving children with autism spectrum disorder (asd). Lazarus provides asd children, their families and their communities reliable high quality therapy to bring each child to their highest potential.

What it reported doing in 2025

The lazarus project's mission is to support children on the autism spectrum and their families by providing them skills and strategies to navigate daily living. Specifically, our therapists use behavior-analytic principles to promote communication, social, and school-readiness skills. Each client receives an individualized therapy plan to help them reach their highest potential, allowing them the opportunity to interact with the world and others around them. We eagerly look forward to impacting young lives each day. It is a pleasure to partner with donors and our community to see our clients succeed and grow.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.5%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.9% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $827K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $94K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.