Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey

Overview

Mission

Through the power of the Holy Spirit and in response to God’s love as revealed in the Gospel, the mission of Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey is to serve those who hurt, who are in need, or who have limited choices—regardless of religious background or affiliation. There are thousands of organizations in our country dedicated to helping people in various ways. Some, like Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (LSMNJ), include the word “ministry” or reference to a religious denomination in their name. The two words “Lutheran” and “Ministry” are significant in our name, because they describe why we serve rather than what we are or who we serve. Many organizations respond to needs. However, LSMNJ does so because we have been loved by God. Our mission is to focus on clearly responding to that love, which is reflected in many different ways. Whether we are providing housing for...

Operating model

Revenue model

Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 84
• Transparency & Controls: 60
• Accountability: 95
• Sustainability: 12
• Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
• Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
• Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.2M in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $892K · 18 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $267K reported
• Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
• Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
• Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
• Contacts: How to reach this organization
• Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
• Related organizations: 27 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.

• High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
• High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
• High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
• High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
• High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.
• Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.