Lutheran Services Carolinas

Legal name: Lutheran Home - Hickory West Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201457410
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Salisbury, NC, United States
Phone
704-637-2870
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,437,942
Expenses
$16,091,893
Assets
$6,936,428
Liabilities
$587,922

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TED GOINS (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • TED GOINS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $467,013 total reported compensation
  • KIRBY NICKERSON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $336,954 total reported compensation
  • KESHA SMITH (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $323,120 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all we serve. While continuing its support of the Lutheran Children’s Home, an NC Synod study commission recommends pursuing an affiliated children’s services program in NC. In 1976, the board of Lutheran Children’s Home establishes an NC Division and the first Lutheran Family Services (LFS) office is set up in the basement of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Raleigh, NC. 1978 North Carolina Lutheran Homes and St. Andrews and Bethany Lutheran Churches cooperate to build and administer Lutherhaus, a federally-subsidized apartment complex for low-income and handicapped individuals in Hickory. The complex opens in 1980.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lutheran home - hickory west, inc. Strives to be a true home for its residents, a place of comfort, security, and belonging. Teammates emphasize both quality care and quality of life. Meaningful activities bring residents, teammates, families, and volunteers together in a spirit of fun and fellowship. Teammates are committed to providing compassionate care and personal attention to residents while meeting the unique medical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each individual. Because choosing a nursing home often comes at a difficult time, chaplains are available to offer support and guidance to families and residents during admission and throughout their stay. During the year ended september 30, 2025, lutheran home - hickory west, inc. Provided 40,322 days of care to 386 residents.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 98% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.5%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th 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: Fail
    • 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: 2.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 90.5% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $467K · 8 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 38 filed related-organization links
  • 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: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.