Lutheran Social Mission Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231352365
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2154268610
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,486,589
Expenses
$6,132,120
Assets
$7,202,481
Liabilities
$2,601,195

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHARYN VOIT (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID CHILES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • VASHTI BATES-BLEDSOE (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID CHILES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $150,820 total reported compensation
  • VASHTI BATES-BLEDSOE (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $112,337 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lutheran settlement house is a multi-service social aid agency providing a full range of counseling, education, housing, and health supports to survivors of domestic violence, families experiencing homelessness, people struggling with food insecurity, and older adults.

What it reported doing in 2024

The bilingual domestic violence program (bdvp)serves over 5,000 individuals a year by providing free, quality services for victims and survivors of domestic and dating abuse regardless of gender or sexual orientation, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Services include: a safe space for in-person and over-the-phone crisis counseling, ongoing individual and group counseling, transitional housing, and advocacy and counseling specifically for immigrant populations. We also work with hundreds of people a year through prevention and education work, including star (students talking about relationships), our signature healthy relationship program with teens, as well as the masculinity action project, our prevention initiative with men. Bdvp also has specialized services based in local hospitals, including einstein, chop, and jefferson.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 71% 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 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd 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: Limited
  • 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.17; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.6% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.