Old Order Amish Helping Program

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251821135
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Elizabethville, PA, USA
Phone
7173628463
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,361,262
Expenses
$22,397,937
Assets
$422,155,789
Liabilities
$417,155,942

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MELVIN LAPP JR (ADMINISTRATO): $40,500 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN S KING (SOUTH SECRET): $1,800 total reported compensation
  • SAMUEL F LAPP (NORTH SECRET): $1,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The program borrows funds from members of the old order amish community to re-lend the funds to younger/needy members of the community at a low interest rate. By operating a helping program, the religious beliefs which are evident in the cultural traditions and lifestyles of the old order amish are advanced to young amish persons, thereby allowing them to establish themselves in the old order amish community. Central to the organization's purpose is the religious mandate of sharing and helping others within the community and the interreliance of those within the old order amish community.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the year ended july 31, the program extend new loans to young/needy amish persons, thereby allowing them to acquire farms or other agricultural financing needs to become established within the old order amish community. ------ the program accepts investments from members of the amish community. The program returned an investment on all invested dollars. The interest earned could be received in check or added into the original investment balance at the direction of the investor. The investments are all due on demand within 60 days of request. ----- the program uses these investment funds to assist new amish agricultural business activities as defined above. The loan agreements written are secured by the underlying real estate and are amortized over a 20 year repayment plan with a 10 year balloon. ----- all loans provided in support of new agricultural activities are approved by the independent board of directors. ----- members of the board of directors and their families are permitted to invest in the organization or receive loans from the organization consistent with the same terms of all recipients of the program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% 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

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 98.4%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.1%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.85; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.2%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.6% of revenue deployed · 98.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $22M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.