The Lantern Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471403943
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Abilene, TX, USA
Phone
9795750771
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$148,253
Expenses
$123,889
Assets
$464,764
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CODY FORSBERG (PRESIDENT)
  • LAUREN WHITENER (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CODY FORSBERG (PRESIDENT)
  • LAUREN WHITENER (VICE PRESIDENT)

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

The overall mission of the lantern project 1) to assist people with barriers to employment by providing vocational education, work training, and support services, 2) to provide a faith-based program designed to teach life skills to people with barriers in life, 3) to provide or facilitate building projects, water wells, humanitarian projects in foreign countries and north america. The lantern project feels strongly that there exists a rising demand for skilled laborers, and the organization can assist with filling this demand by equipping eager and hardworking multi-nationals, veterans, and other individuals who lack access to good training programs and life skill programs. The organization's current focus is on training and assisting refugees.

What it reported doing in 2025

Nicaragua: this program focused on support for meal and education programs for a school in los brasiles and managua, nicaragua. Additionally, various outreaches to children and families in poverty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 90% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 94.7%; rating input score 95

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.75; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.4% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 94.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $117K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.