auditEvery year, the Life Raft Group’s financial statements are audited, providing a glimpse into the priorities of the organization. Audited results for 2012 will be received soon.

Operating expenses are broken down between program services, which include research, family services, advocacy, and information and education; fundraising, and operational expenses such as management of the nonprofit. These financial statements are the responsibility of the organization’s management.

Audits must be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, those standards require that the auditor plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.

In every audit one specific section is the contributions audit, all contributions including unconditional promise to give, are recorded as made. All contributions are available for unrestricted use unless specifically restricted by the donor. Cost of providing the organization’s programs, management and fundraising activities are separately summarized in the statements of functional expenses.

Last year expenses distribution percentages were as follows:

  • Research 76%
  • Family Services 4%
  • Advocacy 4%
  • Information and Education 8%
  • Management & General 4%
  • Fundraising 4%

The 990 also documents the tremendous amount of time our volunteers give to help the GIST community.

We will be posting our 2012 audited results on our website as soon as they are completed.

You can see our budget philosophy and all previously filed 990 here.