Lift Up America

What it reported doing in 2017

HISTORY - Lift Up America (LUA) began in December 2004 when Founder Dave Hannah brought together Tyson Foods, the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs, and 30 nonprofit organizations to distribute 74,000 pounds of frozen chicken - the equivalent of 296,000 meals - to families in need in Miami and Kansas City. The next year over 27 pro and college teams in 23 cities across America participated in the food distributions. LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Starkey Hearing Aids joined with LUA to provide millions of dollars of vision and hearing exams and glasses and hearing aids to the less fortunate at LUA events. Cinemark Theaters provided their movie theaters for Lift Up America Movie Premieres where at-risk youth arrived in limos, saw their faces on the giant jumbotron, and walked the red carpet with cameras flashing, as they became movie stars for one wonderful evening. Cheering dignitaries, professional athletes, and actors welcomed the youth and asked for their autographs.LUA has done sporting events with teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, FC Dallas, and the Boise State football team. At-risk kids were treated like pro athletes and MVPs for a day as they ran across the field in front of a cheering crowd, watched the game, and met the players. Some of the other corporations that have participated with LUA are Interstate Batteries, Ty Beanie Babies, Disney, Nestle, Mann's Theaters, Graumans Chinese Theater, Graumans Egyptian Theater, Best Buy, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Chipotle, Freeman Decorating, Home Depot, American Airlines, CDI College, Vancouver Career College, Dallas Christian College, Boise State, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Indians, Ken Blanchard Companies, Select Portfolio Management, IRS Problem Solvers, and Utopia. LUA President Eric Hannah founded Lift Up America's Ambassadors of Compassion (AOC) Leadership Program, which launched in 2010. AOC is a fourteen-session, coach-led, interactive measured program that raises up the next generation of leaders by equipping them with resiliency, hope, and the personal leadership skills to navigate and succeed through life's inevitable challenges. The AOC Program imparts the critical life principles that are essential for youth to reach their full potential. AOC focuses on the hurt and pain that many in this generation carry in their hearts. It is designed to help students learn to forgive and overcome their negative experiences to enable them to live a successful life and reach their goals and dreams. LUA has football, middle school, high school, and college and university level programs. The AOC Leadership Program begins with a live, televised, or recorded Kickoff Event featuring world influencers, Hollywood personalities, professional athletes, and people with life-changing stories. Weekly meetings led by Team Coaches focus on AOCs leadership model: TRAIN, MEASURE, HONOR. The program concludes with an Honor Event to celebrate the young people who have completed the journey and shown, through measurable actions, that they are serving their communities and taking responsibility for their own lives. Many youth have seen remarkable transformations in their own lives as they cleaned up parks, built a community center, planted trees, removed graffiti, mentored students, helped the elderly, and did many other acts of labor. Each school has its own Honor Event. Some Honor Events have been held with the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Boise State.Key accomplishments in 2017: AMBASSADORS OF COMPASSION LEADERSHIP PROGRAM - 2017 was a big year for growth and expansion as LUA continued to train students using the L.I.F.E. principles: (L) LABOR, (I) INFLUENCE, (F) FORGIVENESS, and (E) EXPERIENCES and the R.I.S.E. principles: (R) RESPONSIBILITY, (I) INITIATIVE, (S) SERVICE, and (E) EXPECTATIONS. LUA measures the hard

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 88.2%; rating input score 88
• Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
• Fundraising efficiency: $30.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -2.7%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings