Porchlight Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391579521
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082572534
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Homeless Shelters

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,098,365
Expenses
$9,379,722
Assets
$20,214,353
Liabilities
$2,997,045

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHERI CARTER (PRESIDENT)
  • CHRISTINE THOMAS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KARLA THENNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KARLA THENNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $154,162 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Porchlight, inc. Strives to decrease the homeless population by providing shelter, housing, supportive services and a sense of community in ways that empower residents and program participants to positively shape their lives. Porchlight, inc. Provides emergency shelter, food, employment services, counseling, and affordable transitional and permanent housing to homeless people in the dane county area. Our services are designed to foster independence and the transition into permanent housing and employment.porchlight is the largest supplier of low-cost housing in dane county and is comprised of an emergency shelter for men, housing and services for men and women suffering from serious mental illnesses, veterans, adults in recovery from alcohol and/or drug addictions, and low-income women, men and children with over 100,000 nights of shelter.a helping hand, not a hand out. A second chance. A warm bed. Hope. Opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Vthp - the veterans transitional housing program (vthp) is a collaborative endeavor between porchlight and the veterans administration grant and per diem (gpd) program. It is a 24-bed, single-room occupancy, transitional housing program for single men who are military veterans and are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A case manager, peer support specialist, and a veterans administration social worker are available to assist with money management, alcohol and drug abuse recovery support, referrals to community services/support systems, legal support, medical care, and counseling. The program provides a continuum of care while preparing the veterans to transition into permanent housing. Vthp served 49 veterans in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $99.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: Limited

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: 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.16; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.4% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $7.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $154K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.