Lines for Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930725294
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, US
Phone
503.244.5211
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Treatment Only

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,115,696
Expenses
$23,343,244
Assets
$8,007,669
Liabilities
$1,845,152

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KERRY BENDEL (PRESIDENT)
  • STANTON GALLEGOS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DWIGHT HOLTON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DWIGHT HOLTON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $277,891 total reported compensation
  • DAVID E WESTBROOK (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $169,110 total reported compensation
  • GREG BORDERS (CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER): $143,049 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lines for Life is a regional nonprofit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide and promoting mental wellness.

What it reported doing in 2024

Crisis intervention services - lines for life operates 24-hour crisis lines offering immediate assistance to help people overcome substance abuse & prevent suicide and to help people understand how to assess whether or not a loved one is at risk for suicide or how to encourage them to get treatment for addiction. The crisis lines took over 200,000 calls texts and chats in fy 2024 specifically through the following: the 988 suicide & crisis lifeline connects callers to trained crisis counselors in their area who can offer support and resources; alcohol & drug helpline assists those struggling with substance abuse and can provide referrals to local resources for peer support and treatment; youthline connects young people with trained teen volunteers supervised by adults; teen peers answer chats texts and calls from anyone 21 or under; the Oregon behavioral health support line provides immediate no-cost behavioral health screening and can help a caller find a mental health or substance use provider nearby; military helpline offers help and hope to service members veterans and their families; senior loneliness is a confidential call service for oregonians 55 and older assisting older adults and providing friendly conversation support and resource referral to any aging adult in Oregon who is experiencing loneliness isolation depression or anxiety.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 88% 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. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $39.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.2%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 88.9% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $21.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $278K · 30 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 47 of 48 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.