Surf for Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262527261
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2019, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
South Portland, ME, USA
Phone
9178707366
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$77,340
Expenses
$94,734
Assets
$23,410
Liabilities
$6,634

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lisa Bisceglia (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Lisa Bisceglia (Executive Director)
  • Lara Buros (Operations Director)
  • Sierra Brasher (Volunteer Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to channel the interest and energy of individuals into teams that travel to various project sites where they serve as hands-on volun-tourists and goodwill advocates. Execution of community-identified projects that provide access to health care and education to disadvantaged children and their communities in the developing world.

What it reported doing in 2025

We completed three community based projects: upgrading an elderly activity center in Pavones, Costa Rica; repairing a community water system in Nicaragua, and a water irrigation system in Calca Peru

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 61.5%; rating input score 62

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -22.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -34.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 61.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $58K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.