The Light House Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521671388
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Annapolis, MD, USA
Phone
4103495056
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeless Shelters

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,390,425
Expenses
$6,259,147
Assets
$14,478,354
Liabilities
$2,420,887

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER EVANS VP UNTIL JULY (PRESIDENT AS OF AUG. 2024)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER CRAWFORD DIR OF (DEV./INTERIM EXE. DIRECTOR): $158,101 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH ROCCA (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $140,310 total reported compensation
  • MARY THOMPSON (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $95,741 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To rebuild the lives of people in need in anne arundel county through service and compassion by providing shelter, preventing homelessness, and empowering individuals as they work toward self-sufficiency.

What it reported doing in 2024

Food pantry and prevention services - the light house safe harbor resource center (shrc) serves individuals and families who are chronically homeless, newly homeless, or at risk of homelessness. The shrc also serves as an entry point to additional light house support services such as workforce development/employment at the social enterprise, light house bistro and emergency shelter. Outreach services are available to unsheltered homeless including laundry, showers, access to computers, snacks and drinks and other light house food programs, as well as case management and referral services. In addition, shrc serves those who are at risk of homelessness through case management focusing on eviction prevention, homeless diversion services, and utility assistance. Clients are also provided other basic needs such as food programs, meals, and clothing.the light house offers a variety of food programs for individuals and families in the community who struggle with food insecurity, including those who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. The light house provides perishable and non-perishable pantry items, freshly prepared meals and grab-and-go meal options to ensure that community members in need have the nutritious food required to support the health and well-being of themselves and/or their families. During the year ended june 30, 2025, the light house food programs provided over 86,500 meals, total unbagged, plus cafeteria (hot lunch, resident meals, etc.) and distributed over 124,000 pounds of perishable and non-perishable pantry items.

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 86% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.9%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.31; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.9% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $158K · 26 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.