Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1996.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
87 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
7 people listed on the 990; $196K paid to officers and key staff.
Michael Debernardi’s $173K as CEO is at the 16th percentile of top reported officer pay among 189 $10–100M youth development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Debernardi | $173,358 | $169,473 | $129,274 | $119,776 | $120,511 | $115,832 |
| Lynn Sanchez | $133,392 | $124,990 | $110,017 | $105,940 | — | — |
| Christy O'Neil | $118,850 | $113,109 | $93,603 | $78,540 | $75,977 | $72,334 |
| Pamela Yus | $107,114 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Provides emergency aid, housing, and job help to those facing hunger, homelessness, or displacement.
Questions for The Life Link
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The life link is committed to improving individual and community health through breaking cycles of chronic homelessness, mental illness, trauma, exploitation, and addiction. Not only were were we able to serve without skipping a beat when the COVID-19 global pandemic hit, we were able to work more closely as a team, strengthen our…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $775K | $397K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.8M | $1.9M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.7M | $1.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.4M | $1.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $2.7M | $2.7M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $208K | $164K | $40K | $4K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.6M | $2.0M | $494K | $49K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $37K | $29K | $7K | $702 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $174K | $137K | $34K | $3K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $213K | $168K | $41K | $4K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $18K | $18K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $49K | $39K | $9K | $684 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $386K | $322K | $52K | $11K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $137K | $106K | $27K | $4K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $240K | $191K | $49K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $41K | $37K | $3K | $209 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $12K | $11K | $841 | $60 |
| InterestLn 20 | $26K | $24K | $2K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $58K | $53K | $5K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $44K | $32K | $12K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $223K | $141K | $58K | $23K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $12K | $4K | $8K | $831 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.2M | $6.2M | $858K | $102K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $10.5M | $10.4M | $165K | $4.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $9.5M | $9.0M | $486K | $3.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $8.7M | $8.2M | $541K | $3.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $8.6M | $7.4M | $1.2M | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $7.4M | $7.2M | $214K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $5.7M | $5.8M | −$106K | $1.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,396,927 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,396,927 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,182,615 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,097,508 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,560,400 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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