Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 341043756
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cleveland, OH, USA
- Phone
- 2166962715
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Protestant
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $13,112,241
- Expenses
- $12,476,948
- Assets
- $22,193,155
- Liabilities
- $3,309,684
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Maria Foschia (President and CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Maria Foschia (President and CEO): $176,890 total reported compensation
- Sue Cyncynatus (CFO): $137,977 total reported compensation
- Michael Sering (VP Housing and Shelter): $109,909 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Inspired by our Lutheran faith tradition, LMM challenges injustices faced by those who are oppressed, forgotten, and hurting by providing responsive solutions, voice and hope. LMM honors the lived experience of the people we serve. Many of the obstacles our program participants, residents, and neighbors face are the result of a lack of compassion, limited awareness, and unfounded public policy. We champion for community members and leaders to fully realize and respond to the unique needs of people facing housing instability, food insecurity, a return to community from incarceration, youth in crisis and adults in need of guardianship. We challenge and invite you to learn more about our initiatives, and support our efforts to restore dignity and hope to people who are oppressed. To **support our mission** , give today.
What it reported doing in 2024
Workforce Development provides vocational training and career services to individuals experiencing homelessness, reentry, current incarceration, and persons unemployed or underemployed. Culinary Training Programming is recognized by the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges & Schools to award certificated and diplomas in the culinary arts and hospitality as well as shorter term credentials to aid with attaining employment and advancing career paths. 72 students were served in 2024. Students also supplort the Central Kitchen which produced 237,250 meals for area shelters.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 73% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.8%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.78; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $10.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 25 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.