Lighthouse Christian School

Legal name: The Lighthouse Christian School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204112074
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dagsboro, DE, USA
Phone
(302) 732-3309
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,248,290
Expenses
$957,317
Assets
$2,730,483
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SHARON ELZEY (PRINCIPAL): $40,000 total reported compensation
  • DONNA ANDERSON (TREASURER): $38,000 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA HAGEMAN (ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL): $26,570 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lighthouse Christian School is committed to every student's growth: spiritually, physically, and academically.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide christian education to children in grades pre-k through eighth grade

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 most voting board members are independent. 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: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.7%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 70.5%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.85; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 23.7% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $770K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.