LifeSight

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460367494
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rapid City, SD, US
Phone
605.716.6733
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Eye Diseases, Blindness and Vision Impairments

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$259,141
Expenses
$361,000
Assets
$2,745,748
Liabilities
$87,574

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ronda Gusinsky (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ronda Gusinsky (Executive Director): $98,182 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Help LifeSight carry on the mission that began as Northern Plains Eye Foundation!

What it reported doing in 2024

A. Medical student volunteers from the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine have conducted research much of it in conjunction with KidsFIRST Free Vision Screenings resulting in the following published manuscripts: 1. Results of a Pediatric Vision Screening Program in Western South Dakota published March 2015 in South Dakota Medicine; 2. Childhood Vision Screening in Western South Dakota; Examining Barriers to Post Vision Screening Followup Referral published January 2017 in South Dakota Medicine; 3. An Evaluation of SPOT Screening Efficacy for Children in South Dakota published May 2018 in South Dakota Medicine; 4.A Review of Childhood Vision Screening Laws and Programs Across the United States published July 2019 in South Dakota Medicine; 5.Multi clinic Evaluation of the SPOT Photoscreeners Efficacy for Detecting Amblyopia Risk Factors as Compared to Same Day Optometrists Examinations in 305 Western South Dakota Children published July 2021 in Aesculapius Journal Health Sciences and Medicine; 6.A Survey of Eye Care Needs Among Community Health Center Patients in Western South Dakota published October 2022 in South Dakota Medicine; 7. Poverty and Vision: The Effect of Title 1 Status on Vision Screening Referral Rates in School Aged Children in Western South Dakota published August 2024 in Ophthalmic Epidemiology. B. LifeSight Dr. Paul L. Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship Endowment established with the University of South Dakota Foundation awards a scholarship to a fourth year University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine student with expressed interest in ophthalmology. C. Sponsorship of eye care professional Continuing Education at Black Hills Regional Eye Institute. D. South Dakota Optometric Society exhibit. E. Newsletter. F. Resource center for eye related information and needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 44%; rating input score 44
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 84.2%; rating input score 84; 50th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -39.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.61; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 44% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $159K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.