Lighthouse of the Big Bend Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 592288754
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL, USA
- Phone
- 8509423658
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,067,160
- Expenses
- $1,193,853
- Assets
- $1,559,618
- Liabilities
- $423,325
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KRISTINA TORRANCE (CEO)
- DOUG INGRAM (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KRISTINA TORRANCE (CEO): $80,558 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of lighthouse of the big bend is to enhance the lives of individuals living with vision loss in the big bend area through direct services, community engagement, and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired and their families, including 5 programs: (a) early intervention/blind babies program for infants and young children birth through age 6 to facilitate the attainment of critical developmental milestones and increase opportunities for success in school, at home, and later in life; (b) transition programs for teens and young adults ages 14 until graduation from high school to teach vocational and independent living goals empowering them to become self sufficient members of society; (c) vocational rehabiliation program for adults seeking to obtain, retain, or regain competitive employment; (d) independent living program for adults and seniors to remain independent in their homes, travel safely and independently in the community and improve the quality of life. Program services include information and referral, job readiness training, orientation and mobility training, access technology training including computers, smart phones, and tablets, personal/home management, adaptive kitchen skills, communication skills training (inludes braille, keyboarding, writing skills), magnification, lighting, eccentric viewing, adjustment to blindness counseling, and self advocacy training; (e) expanded core curriculum children's program for children aged 6-12 to teach compensatory or functional academic skills including commuinication modes, orientation and mobility, social interaction skills, independent living skills, recreation and leisure skills, career education, use of assistive technology, and visual efficiency skills.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 78% 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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -11.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.31; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $81K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.