Living Design Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462056400
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Langley, WA, USA
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$141,149
Expenses
$188,656
Assets
$16,580
Liabilities
$30,000

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joseph L Whisenand (President)

People named in this filing

  • Joseph L Whisenand (President)
  • Mary Lou Whisenand (Secretary Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Living Design Foundation funds and administers educational programs and organizations that build robust self-sufficiency and practical life-skill development. We teach encourage and support individuals especially youth in creating healthy productive and contributing lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Primary Program Activity is the Operation and Support of the Learning Lab at Langley including a 3,000 sq Wood Shop a 2,000 sq Teaching Kitchen a 640sq Greenhouse and 4,000 sq Garden providing hundreds of hands-on experiential learning skill development and community-based education opportunities. These 3 main facilities of Shop Kitchen and Greenhouse Garden are fully equipped stocked and maintained largely by a team of community volunteers as they host a variety of Instruction and Programming designed to serve all age groups and existing schools and educational organizations but primarily Youth Oriented that focus on Transformational Learning that specifically serves Individual and Social Development. All supported Learning activities and programs develop skills and knowledge for daily life beyond the classroom walls.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 53%; rating input score 53

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -33.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.81; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.8% of revenue deployed · 53% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $100K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.