Lemons of Love Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 471308073
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2023
- Forms available
- Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2015, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- Des Plaines, IL, USA
- Phone
- 8472086308
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $930,542
- Expenses
- $991,605
- Assets
- $1,366,015
- Liabilities
- $653,070
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WILLIAM KNEE (PRESIDENT)
- JILL SWANSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JILL SWANSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $60,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Its our mission to share love with those impacted by cancer through personalized care packages, free programs and ongoing support.
What it reported doing in 2023
Lemons of love chemo care packages - the organization understands the little, day-to day challenges that chemotherapy patients are faced with, and hopes to provide some insight about the effects of chemotherapy and attempts to make those short-term side effects, like dry skin and cold toes, a little more manageable through the gift of a care package. Lemons of love cancer resource center - beginning in 2018, the organization opened the lemons of love cancer resource center which provides a designated beauty and spa area where local hairdresses, massage therapists, or make artists can volunteer their time to pamper a patient for the day and to allow a private space for chemo head shavings, space for cancer cancer support groups for those going through chemo, as well as groups for caregivers and loved ones, a project room where local groups and volunteer organizations can help fill bags, take on a project donation, or create happy pictures for care packages, and yoga, meditation, creative arts and other activities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
- Program expense ratio: 69.3%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th 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: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 26.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 69.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $687K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2023
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.