Life Challenge International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861167414
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Phone
4087723127
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Prevention Only

Reported finances

Revenue
$424,816
Expenses
$358,920
Assets
$329,467
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BINUSH JOHN MATHEW (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID MCCAINE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • BINUSH JOHN MATHEW (PRESIDENT): $48,000 total reported compensation
  • INDIRA MATHEW (DIRECTOR): $27,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

LIFE CHALLENGES MISSION IS: - CONDUCT DRUG PREVENTION AND AWARENESS OUTREACH PROGRAMS INTO THE COMMUNITY PREVENT: Conduct addiction awareness programs through seminars & public rallies in schools and communities PREPARE: Training for counselors through certified courses & credentialing programs and seminars for community leaders

What it reported doing in 2024

LIFE SCHOOL WAS STARTED TO PROVIDE HOPE AND RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION FOR ORPHANS AND CHILDREN FROM HOMES AFFECTED BY HIV AND ADDICTION. LIFE CHALLENGE HELPED MANY ABUSED AND THEIR FAMILIES BY PROVIDING MENTORING, EDUCATION, LIFE SKILL TRAINING AND SPIRITUAL DIRECTION. 2024 ACTIVITIES: 1. Individual & family counseling for US immigrant families affected by addiction 2. Addiction awareness programs and online seminars for parents & community leaders 3. Addiction Recovery Mens Centers: One-year residential program for men total 150 beds in 4 locations, (Bangalore, South India,(Dimapur, North East India, Kota, Rajasthan and Vellore, Tamil Nadu 4. Residential School: Kakching Life School in Manipur for children from homes affected by addiction & HIV, and displaced children (94 children) 5. Manipur: Community empowerment initiative supporting 15 families with weaving looms and threads for income generation 6. Community outreach & family support services: Weekly outreach, counseling, and support service in Chennais largest slum resettlement location, South India for nearly 150 women, youth & children, public addiction awareness programs & rallies 7. Kalpakkam Life Challenge: Development of camp and retreat center on two-acre campus with capacity for 50 people in five family suites and four dormitories, event hall for 100 people, scheduled to be fully functional in 2025 8. Life Challenge Nepal programs: Rescued 32 children (7 from sexual abuse, 3 from domestic violence, 17 from human trafficking, 5 from streets) and successfully reunited 25 with their families; kept 70 children safe in school and awarded 40 educational scholarships; provided counseling and support for 4 individuals recovering from addiction and mental health challenges 9.Nepal partnerships and operations: Working with 25 volunteers, staff, and counselors; collaborating with Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre Women/Children/Senior Citizens Service Directors, New Women and Children Service Centers, Department of Crime Investigation, Nepal Police, and local NGOs 10.Nepal community support: Daily afterschool program serving 22-25 children from vulnerable homes; womens support groups; flood relief supplies and temporary shelter; earthquake relief including winter supplies (blankets, jackets) and sustainable goat farming program for affected families 11.Life Clubs expansion in Africa: Reaching 6,314 children through 248 Life Clubs across seven countries (Nigeria: 1,056 children in 48 clubs; Kenya: 823 children in 27 clubs; Zambia: 2,287 children in 91 clubs; Malawi: 432 children in 17 clubs; Tanzania: 350 children in 17 clubs; Burundi: 850 children in 43 clubs; Cameroon: 335 children in 23 clubs) 12.Life Clubs expansion in India: Launched 28 clubs in Manipur reaching 436 children with curriculum translated into Manipuri; LIFE Curriculum now available in 12 languages. 13.Life Challenge training: Conducted Addiction Counseling one-day seminars and 30- hour Certified Facilitators programs in multiple locations across India (Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana); launched Life Challenge Korea with certified facilitators training for Korean Americans 14.Curriculum development: Translated LIFE Curriculum into additional languages including Manipuri, Nepali, Swahili, Nyanja, Chichewa, and Kirundi; processing translation requests from Togo, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Uganda, Pakistan, Srilanka, and various regions in India

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% 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.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.5%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $280K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.