Light the Legacy

Educate Empower Inspire

Saint Cloud, MN | https://www.lightthelegacy.org

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GuideStar Charity Check

Light the Legacy

EIN: 47-2673813

Contributions tax deductible
as of March 2023

IRS BMF 509(a)(1)
as of March 13, 2023

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Charity Check report

Mission

Light the Legacy's mission is to educate, empower, and inspire individuals to engage in comprehensive advance care planning so their healthcare preferences for the future will be expressed and honored.

Ruling year info

2015

Executive Director

Lynn MacKenzie

Main address

619 W Saint Germain St # 218

Saint Cloud, MN 56301 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

47-2673813

Subject area info

Health care quality

Health care administration and financing

Personal services

Health

Population served info

Adults

People with diseases and illnesses

NTEE code info

Health (General and Financing) (E80)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Show Forms 990

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

Reports and documents

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Too often family members who cannot speak for themselves due to illness or accident, and find themselves approaching End of Life healthcare rely on relatives to make important end-of-life decisions for them. Yet, well in advance of the end-of-life situation, family conversations and resulting legal documents to pursue such decisions, leave a void. The family member, or agent, who is charged with making end-of-life healthcare decisions for her/his loved one is at a loss to know what this loved one would want. And therein lies fear, anxiety, and the most distraught emotions. People want to do the right thing for the people they love, but they must know what the person they love would want in end-of-life healthcare. Therefore, Light the Legacy helps families and professional healthcare staff - through education - navigate the process of from having and supporting difficult, yet necessary conversations to completing appropriate documents, and the procedure that follows.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Training Adults and Healthcare Staff

Light the Legacy conducts Advance Care Planning Facilitator classes (ACP) for medical staff, other professionals, and adult family members wishing to learn about End-of-Life Healthcare planning. Training is also arranged for Physician's Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) facilitators. During the pandemic, Light the Legacy conducts virtual ACP classes every month through the Whitney Senior Center. Partnerships and donors' financial support make these classes for the public and medical staff possible.
We encourage adults 18 and over to prepare an Advanced Healthcare Directive. Light the Legacy classes navigate the way.

Population(s) Served

Adults

Where we work

External reviews

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

What is the organization aiming to accomplish?

Light the Legacy seeks to reach families in central Minnesota with education about completing Advanced Healthcare directives well in advance of being needed for decision-making. Such preparation decreases anxiety, fear, and the emotions surrounding decisions about end-of-life healthcare for loved ones.

What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?

Light the Legacy reaches out to community members through Health Fairs (prior to Covid 2020), Zoom classes for community members, professional healthcare staff, and for Seniors and family members twice a month at Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud. An evening class will be added in 2021. Prior to Covid, Light the Legacy\u0027s Executive Director, and assisting professional medical staff provided classes for civic groups, churches, and other organizations by request. There is a website: https://www.lightthelegacy.org to visit to gain free materials and information. Light the Legacy sned out, via email, a monthly newsletter. We are also present on Facebook. Getting the word out!

What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?

What have they accomplished so far and what's next?

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

We shared information about our current feedback practices.

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

All adults 18+
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
What significant change resulted from feedback?

We are currently revising the statewide healthcare directive in response to feedback collected over the past few years that made it clear it needed to be updated to better serve our communities. All of our learning management systems are updated based on client feedback, along with our general educational programming - where, when, for how long, and in what format we offer programming is all determined by client needs.
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Light the Legacy

Fiscal year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

NET GAIN/LOSS: in

Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Financial data

Source: IRS Form 990

Digitizing IRS form 990 data

Light the Legacy

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Fiscal year ending: Download Data

Revenue
Contributions	$45,169
Program Services	$4,050
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$49,219

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$0
Professional Fees	$80,887
Occupancy	$2,297
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$193
Other Expenses	$8,615
Total Expenses	$91,992
Net Gain/Loss	($42,773)

Revenue
Contributions	$87,168
Program Services	$5,988
Investments	$0
Special Events	($1,442)
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$91,714

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$74,374
Professional Fees	$1,680
Occupancy	$1,783
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$2,198
Other Expenses	$12,424
Total Expenses	$92,459
Net Gain/Loss	($745)

Revenue
Contributions	$47,194
Program Services	$2,000
Investments	$0
Special Events	($1,335)
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$47,859

Expenses
Grants	$1,000
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$54,088
Professional Fees	$5,614
Occupancy	$1,953
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$843
Other Expenses	$9,828
Total Expenses	$73,326
Net Gain/Loss	($25,467)

Revenue
Contributions	$33,517
Program Services	$116,127
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$149,644

Expenses
Grants	$160
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$58,732
Professional Fees	$31,705
Occupancy	$5,619
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$3,649
Other Expenses	$12,720
Total Expenses	$112,585
Net Gain/Loss	$37,059

Revenue
Contributions	$50,680
Program Services	$117,463
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$168,143

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$59,750
Professional Fees	$25,030
Occupancy	$7,870
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$3,190
Other Expenses	$14,572
Total Expenses	$110,412
Net Gain/Loss	$57,731

Light the Legacy

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: Download Data

Assets	Jan 01, 2015	Dec 31, 2015	Change
Contributions	$45,169
Cash & Equivalents	$75,184	$32,411	($42,773)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Assets	$75,184	$32,411	($42,773)

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2015	Dec 31, 2015	Change
Total Liabilities	$0	$0	$0

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2015	Dec 31, 2015	Change
Net Assets	$75,184	$32,411	($42,773)

Assets	Jan 01, 2016	Dec 31, 2016	Change
Contributions	$87,168
Cash & Equivalents	$32,411	$31,666	($745)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Assets	$32,411	$31,666	($745)

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2016	Dec 31, 2016	Change
Total Liabilities	$0	$0	$0

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2016	Dec 31, 2016	Change
Net Assets	$32,411	$31,666	($745)

Assets	Jan 01, 2017	Dec 31, 2017	Change
Contributions	$47,194
Cash & Equivalents	$31,666	$6,199	($25,467)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Assets	$31,666	$6,199	($25,467)

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2017	Dec 31, 2017	Change
Total Liabilities	$0	$0	$0

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2017	Dec 31, 2017	Change
Net Assets	$31,666	$6,199	($25,467)

Assets	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Contributions	$33,517
Cash & Equivalents	$6,199	$43,258	$37,059
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Assets	$6,199	$43,258	$37,059

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Total Liabilities	$0	$0	$0

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Net Assets	$6,199	$43,258	$37,059

Assets	Jan 01, 2019	Dec 31, 2019	Change
Contributions	$50,680
Cash & Equivalents	$43,258	$100,989	$57,731
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Assets	$43,258	$100,989	$57,731

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2019	Dec 31, 2019	Change
Total Liabilities	$0	$0	$0

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2019	Dec 31, 2019	Change
Net Assets	$43,258	$100,989	$57,731

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents

Letter of Determination

Form 1023/1024

Executive Director

Lynn MacKenzie

Lynn is the Executive Directive for Light the Legacy, a nonprofit organization. She holds a degree in Interdepartmental Speech Communications from St. Cloud State University and is certified through Respecting Choices® as an advance care planning facilitator and instructor for advance care planning facilitators and POLST (Providers Orders for Life Sustaining Treatments) facilitators. Lynn is author of the book “The Tear Catcher – God’s Hand in Your Heartache” and the play, “An Almost Murder Mystery”.

Light the Legacy

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation

Other

Show data for fiscal year

Compensation data

Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

Light the Legacy

Board of directors
as of 02/23/2023

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Board of directors data

Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization

Board co-chair

Mary Ellen Wells

C-Suite Resources

Term: 2021 - 2023

Board co-chair

Jerry McCarter

Clifton Larson

Term: 2023 - 2025

Patricia Bresser

St. Cloud State Univ. - Retired

Joy Hornung

Clifton Larson Allen

Merryn Jolkovsky, M.D.

St. Cloud Hospital - Retired

Sangeeta Jha

St. Cloud Technical College

Richard Shank

United Hospital St. Paul - Retired

Stephen Pareja

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud

Sarah Schmidt

Country Manor

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/10/2023

Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity

White/Caucasian/European

Gender identity

Female, Not transgender (cisgender)

Sexual orientation

Heterosexual or straight

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/17/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data

We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.

Policies and processes

We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.

Light the Legacy

Educate Empower Inspire

Mission

Is this your nonprofit?

Programs and results

Reports and documents

What we aim to solve

Our programs

Training Adults and Healthcare Staff

Where we work

Goals & Strategy

Charting impact

What is the organization aiming to accomplish?

What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?

What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?

What have they accomplished so far and what's next?

How we listen

Financials

Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown

Financial data

Digitizing IRS form 990 data

Light the Legacy

Light the Legacy

Operations

Documents

Executive Director

Lynn MacKenzie

Light the Legacy

Compensation data

Light the Legacy

Board of directors data

Mary Ellen Wells

Jerry McCarter

Board leadership practices

Board orientation and education

CEO oversight

Ethics and transparency

Board composition

Board performance

Organizational demographics

Leadership

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies