Restoring Lifeways

What it reported doing in 2024

The primary activity of Restoring Lifeways is fiscal sponsorship Restoring Lifeways RL serves as an interface with governmental and philanthropic entities for an individual or projects work accepting and administering funds in collaboration with them. Fiscal sponsorship at RL gives individuals and groups a 501c3 non-profit home allowing them to focus on their work while RL helps to manage financial HR and legal elements. This helps give projects the room they need to make their impact on the world. We see ourselves as partners with the organizations we support and our interactions with our projects go far beyond the transactional. We recognize and honor the sovereignty of our fiscal sponsors many of whom come from and are serving communities that have been subjected to historical and ongoing systems of subjugation disempowerment and oppression. We design our services to remove barriers build trust and partnership uplift traditional Indigenous knowledge and practices and contribute to healing justice and liberation. RLs fiscally sponsored projects have access to an array of services provided at a lower or more flexible cost than would be possible for these projects on their own. All fiscally sponsored projects at RL have a mission-aligned focus on supporting youth on their journey into healthy adulthood. We also partnered with a donor advised fund to distribute grants to a cohort of charitable exempt organizations.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 85.6%; rating input score 86
• Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $20.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 99%; rating input score 99; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Limited
  • 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: -3.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 38.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 38.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 36.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings