Legal Services for Maine Elders Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010359131
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Augusta, ME, USA
Phone
2076210087
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,473,388
Expenses
$3,291,941
Assets
$2,537,636
Liabilities
$233,796

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JAYE L MARTIN (EXECUTIVE DI): $138,916 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA KIRCHDORFER (FINANCE DIRE): $116,799 total reported compensation
  • JOHN BRAUTIGAM (EXECUTIVE DI): $97,345 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 free high quality legal services to Maine residents aged sixty & over, who qualify for legal services under the older americans act, 42 usca sec. 3001 et seq, as amended.

What it reported doing in 2024

Advocacy and education: medicare and mainecare(medicaid) information provided through participation in state health insurance assistance and senior medicare patrol programs; free assistance provided by medicare part d appeals unit in appealing denials of medications under medicare part d and ensuring access to help in affording medications; outreach and education; and public policy and legislative advocacy pursued on behalf of the older people. During the fiscal year ended september 30, 2025, the organization handled 577 matters for 540 clients it served.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 74% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $59.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 5.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.