Life Essentials Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311324922
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Dayton, OH, USA
Phone
9375860545
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Child Matching Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$415,481
Expenses
$444,032
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELI SPERRY (PRESIDENT)
  • JOE SZOKE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LINDA CROUCH-ROEPKEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LINDA CROUCH-ROEPKEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $57,897 total reported compensation
  • CATHY SHOUP (BOOKKEEPER): $27,115 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of life essentials is to be the community leader inproviding professional, person-centered services to enhance thewell-being of vulnerable adults.

What it reported doing in 2019

Guardianship - the program provides support for those deemed mentallyincompetent by the probate court and that do not have any familywilling or capable of making sound decisions for them. Life essentialstrains volunteers and employs staff to take on this critical role asguardian. Guardians work with their clients to ensure the client hasthe best possible life and lives in the least restrictive environment.guardians function as the advocate and ensure the safety and well-beingof their clients. Being a guardian is a significant responsibility; onethat protects the rights and dignity of a fellow human being. Incurrent year, 279 clients received 3,375 interventions. Volunteersprovided services valued at $20,388 not included in service hours.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $339K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2009 to 2019
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.