Lifequest USA Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264584308
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Phone
5053419383
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$352,836
Expenses
$363,241
Assets
$175,923
Liabilities
$119,140

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ryan Chantry Butts (President / CEO)
  • Mark Rickertt (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ryan Chantry Butts (President / CEO): $63,000 total reported compensation
  • John Jones (Director): $1,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Providing critical support services to help New Mexico youth overcome the challenges of their past and build resilience for the future.

What it reported doing in 2025

LifeQuest provides transitional services to incarcerated youth in the state of NM. In 2025, over 75 clients participated in programming.LifeQuests 4:13 Journey Program takes youth on a journey of discovery, using the spirit of adventure and the challenge of the great outdoors as a catalyst to help them develop strong character so they can reach their highest potential. In 2025, 72 middle and high schoolers participated.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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 - 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: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.3%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 52.7%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.9%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.68; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.3% of revenue deployed · 52.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $192K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.