Life Ring Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270927269
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Roanoke, VA, USA
Phone
5409041732
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Private Grantmaking Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,812,983
Expenses
$342,119
Assets
$1,859,132
Liabilities
$2,083

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KELLY S WOOLWINE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JORDAN BOUSMAN (VP OF PHILAN): $106,778 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The foundation was created to provide charitable and emergency assistance to indivuduals and tax-exempt organizations. The foundation also funds scholarships for individuals to attend Virginia tech.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation provided general donations to non-profits such as children's miracle network, vwcc educational foundation, we are one llc, and Virginia tech foundation to further their charitable works.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 47% for direct work, and 53% for grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 24
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 7%; rating input score 7
  • Program expense ratio: 33.2%; rating input score 33
  • Fundraising efficiency: $83.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 86.6%; rating input score 87; 37th 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: 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 81.1%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.43; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 7% of revenue deployed · 33.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $113K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.