Lift for Life Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431535886
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Saint Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3142312337
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Sports Associations &Training Facilities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,749,226
Expenses
$19,030,131
Assets
$24,737,748
Liabilities
$6,318,840

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARSHALL COHEN (Executive Director)
  • SCOTT DOLAN (President)
  • TAMI FERNANDEZ (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATRICE NOBLE (Deputy Director): $177,688 total reported compensation
  • MARSHALL COHEN (Executive Director): $171,821 total reported compensation
  • DAVID LEMAY (Operation Director): $148,406 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lift For Life Academy is a challenging learning community where all students are empowered to maximize their full potential as students and citizens.

What it reported doing in 2024

The academy provides a campus of academic classrooms, social/cultural amenities, and athletic facilities. The academy has a creative faculty of teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators to approximately 860 students attending Pre-K through 12th grade.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 86% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.3%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.