Metro Lutheran Ministry

Legal name: Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
430970991
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Kansas City, MO, United States
Phone
816-454-5295
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,813,456
Expenses
$8,630,071
Assets
$8,528,165
Liabilities
$184,364

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SCOTT COOPER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BECKY POITRAS (VP/ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SCOTT COOPER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $199,366 total reported compensation
  • BECKY POITRAS (VP/ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $127,917 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

With dignity and respect, Metro Lutheran Ministry helps families and individuals break the cycle of poverty, supporting them in achieving housing and personal stability, food security, and self-sufficiency. Metro Lutheran Ministry is grateful for the support we receive to grow our ministry and allow us to provide the best services we can to those with the most need. Because you chose to give to MLM, we want you to see how MLM has been responsible stewards of your donations. We are dedicated to being transparent with our financial management and hope you always feel like you are donating your dollars wisely and where they can have the most impact. Annual Report.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community outreach: over time, metropolitan lutheran ministry (mlm) has developed a portfolio of community outreach programs designed for the general benefit of the communities they operate in. The minor home repair program provides assistance to low income, elderly and disabled homeowners who are in need of repairs to improve the safety and security of their homes, allowing them to remain in their homes.mlm also hosts a christmas store in Kansas city alongside a volunteer corps of 500 people to provide approximately 900 families with food vouchers and a self-shop store with gifts for every member of the family.additionally, mlm hosts two unlimited hot breakfasts each saturday in Kansas city, Kansas and Kansas city, Missouri. Finally, the mlm orchard and community gardens exist to improve community health by providing better food for people in the adjacent neighborhoods of boston heights and mount hope. Mlm manages an 80 tree orchard that produces a wide variety of fruit, including apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, pears and plums. Mlm also offers and maintains community garden beds for residents of the neighborhoods where fresh produce of their choice is grown. The orchard and community gardens continue to be a place of hope and encouragement for the neighborhoods and seek to change the habits of individuals in the community toward healthier food choices.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: 12.1%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.99; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $7.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Conflict-of-interest policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.