Little Lights
Legal name: Little Lights Urban Ministries Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 522125232
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2025484021
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Centers, Clubs
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,196,106
- Expenses
- $2,325,797
- Assets
- $6,185,626
- Liabilities
- $2,617,647
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Steven Park (Board President/Executive)
Highest reported compensation
- Steven Park (Board President/Executive): $146,040 total reported compensation
- Mary Park (Deputy Director): $116,249 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Little Lights Urban Ministries empowers underserved youth and families in Washington, DC with the love of Christ. We seek to develop their God-given potential spiritually, socially and intellectually through academics, life skills, the arts and discipleship.
What it reported doing in 2024
Little Lights provided afterschool programs, summer camp, family services, tutoring, mentoring, and holistic support to youth and families living in public housing in Washington, DC. There were 10,968 meals served to community members. 180 students participated in programs. 250 adults visited the Family Center.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 66
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 56.9%; rating input score 57
- Program expense ratio: 77.1%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 27.2%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.66; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.3%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 56.9% of revenue deployed · 77.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 19 people listed
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.