Shine a Light Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851777495
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Phone
7252585222
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,361,296
Expenses
$1,497,339
Assets
$618,123
Liabilities
$198,167

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL VAUTRINOT (EXECUTIVE DI): $72,000 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT BANGHART (MEMBER AT LA): $62,500 total reported compensation
  • SINDY DOYLE (SECRETARY): $62,500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Shine a light foundation (the foundation) is a domestic non-profit corporation providing homeless outreach and placement services that help hundreds of homeless men, women, and children in the greater las vegas area. Our primary focus is individuals who live in the underground flood channels of las vegas. The program prides itself on going into the depths of the storm-drain system and engaging this underserved, hidden population on a personal level.

What it reported doing in 2025

Shine a light offers instant placement with access to treatment and housing (ipath) to all clients that we come into contact with or that reach out for help. We have partnered with our local safety net providers to ensure that they are able to receive help the moment they ask for it. True to our roots, we also dole out much-needed supplies, including bottled water, food, socks, flashlights, headlamps and aa and aaa batteries. We are committed to ensuring that the continuity of support doesn't stop once placement is obtained. Our comprehensive case management program is designed to walk each client who chooses to participate through two years of services, from the point of contact through all individual stages of the re-entry process. The goal is to ensure that there is no reason to ever feel like anyone has to recidivate back to their previous situation.

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 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 33% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.9% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.