Lutheran Braille Workers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
956048152
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Yucaipa, CA, USA
Phone
9097958977
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,369,516
Expenses
$9,351,989
Assets
$3,892,696
Liabilities
$727,646

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL JENKINS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • NATHANIEL P PAREDES (DIRECTOR OF): $114,368 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL JENKINS (PRESIDENT): $84,480 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Because god desires salvation for all...lutheran braille workers freely shares the gospel with people who are blind or visually impaired.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lutheran braille workers, inc.'s (lbw) programs include providing braille, large print, and prison large print bibles, as well as gospel-focused materials free of charge. 3,200+ faithful volunteers come together every week for fellowship and to prepare the word of god for those who are blind or visually impaired at 102 locations around the united states. Lbw works with bible societies, schools for the blind, prison ministries, and missionaries worldwide to share the gospel with this underserved population of people. Over the last 80 years of operations, lbw has distributed over 15 million volumes of the bible and gospel-focused material free of charge to those who ask.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 84.5% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 70.5% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.6% of revenue deployed · 82% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.