The Well of Lexington Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611367567
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Lexington, KY, USA
Phone
8592294190
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeless Shelters

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$87,042
Expenses
$112,376
Assets
$277,297
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CINDY HICKS (PRESIDENT)
  • EILEEN LEVY (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DIANA KOONCE (ADVISORY BOARD): $58,070 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization is a secular non-profit which has been addressing the complex recovery requirements of women victimized by sex trafficking since 2016. The organization offers programs to (1) educate children, youth and families utilizing evidence-based programs; (2) empower at-risk youth to make healthy choices through trafficking prevention curriculum; (3) engage communities through trafficking awareness and outreach; and (4) equip childcare centers and preschools with training on social-emotional learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

The goal of wellstart is to reduce the vulnerability to sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in the most vulnerable populations; i.e. Children in foster care, lower socioeconomic classes, and children of color. Using the mindup and not a number curriculums, the organization can build protective factors into the programs serving children and youth, and help them identify and utilize healthy systems to decrease their vulnerabilities.

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 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -29.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.47; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 51.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $99K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.