Lutheran Services in Iowa Charitable Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 421254906
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Des Moines, IA, USA
- Phone
- 5159717402
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Children's, Youth Services
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,153,430
- Expenses
- $772,408
- Assets
- $12,249,638
- Liabilities
- $12,249,638
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HARDMAN RENEE (PRESIDENT/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- HARDMAN RENEE (PRESIDENT/CEO): $270,684 total reported compensation
- KNIEF RONI (CFO): $143,923 total reported compensation
- DEAN DANIEL (VP OF CAPACITY AND STRATEGY): $132,223 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of lutheran services in Iowa charitable foundation, inc. (lsi fnd) is to accept gifts from bequests, life insurance, and other restricted donations. These funds are invested by lsi fnd's board of directors with the investment earnings used for perpetual financial support of lsi in providing social ministry services. The mission statement of lsi is: lutheran services in Iowa responds to the love of jesus christ through compassionate service.
What it reported doing in 2025
Provided financial support to lsi and through that financial support assist lsi with its purpose of providing social ministry services to children, families, and others in need of social assistance. Lsi impacts the lives of thousands of iowans annually through residential treatment, services to families, early childhood programs, adoption/foster care services, refugee community services, and services for people with disabilities. Lsi serves people of all ages, genders, nationalities, religions, ethnicities and sexual orientations and is affiliated with lutheran services in america and three Iowa synods of the evangelical lutheran church in america (elca).
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.7%; rating input score 66
- Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 33%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.86; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 65.7% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $616K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.