Lifeline Community Development Corporation of Merced County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
743236209
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Merced, CA, USA
Phone
2092012905
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$447,627
Expenses
$358,356
Assets
$88,174
Liabilities
$4,947

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Monika Grasley (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Monika Grasley (Executive Director): $7,940 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We empower neighborhoods to thrive using strength-based principles and practices. We strengthen communities by listening to their stories, learning about their dreams, and working together to fulfill their personal goals and better the community. We believe people also need knowledge, social capital, and access to outside resources, so we partner with other agencies in the area to provide resources for the neighbors involved in our programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Winton Community Center serves as a vital hub for the small, unincorporated town of Winton, California. Staff and volunteers work together to empower neighbors to thrive through relationships, education, and collaboration. Partnerships are key to our success-together we cultivate a thriving community garden where residents grow fresh produce, learn budgeting skills, and connect with one another. Youth enrichment programs provide a safe space for young people to develop life skills through activities such as resume building, job readiness, and community service. We also offer mental health support, emergency food assistance, and other essential resources to help individuals move toward stability and self-sufficiency. Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, we helped return more than $350,000 to local families through tax refunds. Interns from UC Merced, participants from re-entry programs, and Worknet trainees gain valuable workforce skills and contribute to the center's mission. Every day, diverse community members-retired teachers, individuals experiencing homelessness, people in recovery, and local volunteers - come together to make Winton a stronger, more connected, and thriving place to live.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.5%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $45.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.9%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.5% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $275K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $8K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.