Stewardship of Life Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232726449
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gettysburg, PA, USA
Phone
7173383011
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$114,376
Expenses
$124,427
Assets
$3,173,083
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARTIN ZIMMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARTIN ZIMMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $10,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Teach and promote stewardship of life from a sound biblical/theological perspective

What it reported doing in 2024

Taught and promoted stewardship of life from a sound biblical/theological perspective, under auspices of and as an independent institute of the evangelical lutheran church in america (elca), or its successors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.9%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 63rd 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.8%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 25.5; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.9% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $103K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $10K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.