Lend A Hand Up Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824471241
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7012710263
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,175,020
Expenses
$462,034
Assets
$2,768,815
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Damon Gleave CFOInterim (Executive Director (from June))

Highest reported compensation

  • J Patrick Traynor Executive (Director (Until June)): $599,528 total reported compensation
  • Michael Schumacher CIODirector (for The Center of Excellence): $306,037 total reported compensation
  • Damon Gleave CFOInterim (Executive Director (from June)): $142,843 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 increase financial help for area families experiencing hardship due to a health issue or other traumatic event by empowering volunteers with comprehensive fundraising resources that inspire and enhance generosity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lend A Hand Up (LAHU) works by and through others to raise financial help and hope for local families facing a serious health issue, trauma, or the recent loss of a loved one. LAHU and caring community members have partnered together to significantly ease the financial burden through the provision of fundraising efforts and Welcome boosts, boost grants and gift cards. In addition to helping eligible families residing in Cass (ND), Clay (MN), Becker (MN), and Otter Tail (MN) counties, LAHU expanded its service area during the fiscal year to include Grand Forks, Steele, and Traill counties in North Dakota and Polk, Pennington, Red Lake and Norman counties in Minnesota. Dakota Medical Foundation (DMF) and its supporting organizations, Lend A Hand Up (LAHU), and Dakota Medical Charities (DMC) collectively referred to as the "Foundations" are recognized leaders dedicated to addressing societal health problems and improving the health and quality of life for people across North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.Lend A Hand Up provides resources to help volunteers host, plan and promote online fundraisers and in-person benefits to raise financial help for eligible families.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40.5%; rating input score 40
  • Program expense ratio: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $145.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 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: 60.7%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.99; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40.5% of revenue deployed · 98.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $454K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $600K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.