The Lantern Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
331712903
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5034499639
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Counseling, Support Groups

Reported finances

Revenue
$311,413
Expenses
$217,045
Assets
$4,796,956
Liabilities
$4,697,313

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EMILY FUSARO (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • EMILY FUSARO (PRESIDENT)
  • ELAINE SKINNER (SECRETARY)
  • KURTIS FUSARO (TREASURER)

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

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

Overview

Mission

The lantern provides connection and grief support. Our offerings:- nourish deep connections- expand access to care for grief and healing- advance grief literacy across sectors- reawaken our capacity to grieve, love and connect.

What it reported doing in 2025

Delivered grief support and educational programming through facilitated grief groups, befriending mortality seminars, workplace grief trainings, community song circles, and informational sessions, promoting healing, connection, and increased grief awareness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 72% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.5%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 30.3%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.1; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.98; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.5% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $170K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.