Life Connections Peer Recovery Serv

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820730805
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Dewitt, IA, USA
Phone
5636596625
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health, Crisis Intervention N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$560,546
Expenses
$642,185
Assets
$350,735
Liabilities
$26,156

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BECKY ESKILDSEN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • TODD NOACK (EXECUTIVE DI): $73,908 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Create peer-to-peer opportunities in Iowa for advancing hope, recovery and wellness for all people; including anyone who has struggled with emotional distress, psychiatric diagnosis, substance abuse, trauma or a variety of other life interrupting challenges.

What it reported doing in 2025

The wellness center is a place individuals struggling with emotional distress, psychiatric diagnosis, substance abuse, trauma, and/or a variety of other life-interrupting challenges can receive peer delivered wellness and recovery services. The wellness center initially opened and operated at the dewitt united methodist church. Life connections moved the wellness center on june 21, 2023 to a larger, more accessible location at 1663 lincoln way clinton, ia 52732. The wellness center operates 7 days a week, monday thru friday 4pm to 10pm and saturday and sunday 12pm to 6pm. Life connections has served a total of over 1,500 people in recovery from mental health and substance issues in the wellness center during 2025. The wellness center secured funding of 178,657.00 for 2025. Individuals receive one-to-one and group based peer support sessions. Recreational and socialization activities are offered to counter the self- isolation that can contribute to depression. Formal programs addressing anger management, how to build self-esteem and practical plans for community engagement are available. Certified peer facilitators trained by the copeland center for wellness and recovery conduct wellness recovery and action plan (wrap) groups at the wellness center. The center enhanced Iowa by training 218 wrap evidenced based service in 2023. A licensed mental health professional, contracted by life connections and credentialed by the state of Iowa, provides clinical consultation and supervision to the peer recovery specialists employed at the wellness center. The wellness center serves a small-town rural community and is the only place in the dewitt region where individuals struggling with emotional distress, psychiatric diagnosis, substance abuse, trauma, and/or other life-interrupting challenges can receive peer-delivered wellness and recovery services. Life connections received extensive media coverage from local, regional and statewide print, radio and television outlets about the organization's unique recovery services as well as the first national commercial for peer run organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $552K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.