BBB Wise Giving Report for
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

BBB Wise Giving Report issued February 2011
BBB Wise Giving Report expires February 2013


This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability and is a Seal Holder. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Address: 700 Light Street
  Baltimore, MD 21230
Phone: 410-230-2700
Web Address: www.lirs.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1966, Minnesota
Affiliates: 22 affiliates
Stated Purpose: "to stand with and advocate for migrants and refugees, transforming communities through ministries of service and justice."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

LIRS works to welcome immigrants and refugees who have been forced to leave their homes and begin anew; advocates for and helps those who seek safety from persecution; reunites families separated by conflict; and resettles refugees and protects vulnerable children who arrive alone in the United States. The organization's resettlement program works through a network of local social ministry organizations in 49 communities across the United States, preparing a place of welcome to meet the particular needs of the refugees, engaging local churches and the community to accompany refugees to become self-reliant members of their new communities. LIRS provides child welfare services for unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children, reunifying children with their families or placing and supporting them in specialized foster care programs. LIRS supports legal representation to asylum seekers, including torture survivors, almost all of whom are in immigration detention. The organization also works through a network of service partners to conduct legal clinics to equip newcomers with information about the U.S. immigration system.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, LIRS's program expenses were:

  
US Government funded activities 27,478,314
Other program activities 1,317,325
Total Program Expenses: $28,795,639
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Linda Hartke, President and CEO
Compensation*:
$165,088

Chair of the Board: The Reverend E. Roy Riley, Jr.
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Bishop of the NJ Synod of the ELCA

Board Size: 15

Paid Staff Size: 77

*February 22, 2010 - December 31, 2010 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances. The past President, Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr. was compensated in the amount of $206,204 during 2009.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

Direct mail, telemarketing, print advertisements, grant proposals, Internet appeals, and planned giving.
Fund raising costs were 1% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $30,264,539, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
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Tax Status

              

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on LIRS's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Source of Funds  
U.S. Government and State 29,907,281
Loan servicing fees 982,677
Participating church bodies 761,935
Investment earnings 281,949
Other contributions 280,442
Miscellaneous 92,538
In-kind contributions 65,316
Foundations and other grants 11,500
Total Income $32,383,638


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 91%  Fund Raising: 1%  Administrative: 8% 

Total income   $32,383,638
  Program expenses $28,795,639
  Fund raising expenses 331,174
  Administrative expenses 2,632,868
 
Total expenses   $31,759,681
Income in Excess of Expenses   623,957
Beginning net assets   5,228,759
Ending net assets   5,852,716
Total liabilities   7,163,413
Total assets   $13,016,129

Note: According to LIRS, in 2009, the organization received in-kind contributions in the amount of $65,316 which included law books ($55,000), President farewell reception ($8,533), office furniture ($830), fundraising incentives ($740), meeting supplies ($152), and travel ($61).

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An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

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