Mission
Lutheran Services Florida serves to bring God’s healing, hope, and help to people in need in the name of Jesus Christ.
Leadership
CEO/Executive Director
Mr. Samuel M Sipes
Board Chair
Mr Bill Haueisen
Board Chair Affiliation
retired
General Info
Tax Exempt Status
Public Supported Charity
Incorporation Year
1982
State Charitable Solicitations Permit
Yes Jan 2018
State Registration
Yes Jan 2017
Financial Summary
Projected Revenue
$216,500,000.00
Projected Expenses
$216,400,000.00
IRS Letter of Determination
Impact Statement
At any given time, 14% of non-institutionalized elders, not to mention adults who suffer physical or mental incapacities, experience physical, psychological or sexual abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. For over 25 years, LSF guardianship has worked diligently to make sure that vulnerable adults in Sarasota County don’t face a future of neglect, isolation and abuse. Its longevity is a testament to the quality and necessity of its services. LSF continues to work so that in the next 25 years of its guardianship program, every individual who needs this life-saving service can access it.
Needs Statement
Nearly 40% of Sarasota County is over the age of 60 and almost 14% of those individuals live well below the poverty line. Add to that the more than 16% of Sarasota County residents over the age of 65 who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia as well as the hundreds of individuals, regardless of their age, who suffer from incapacitating disease or injury and the need for LSF guardianship services is more than clear.
It is easy to see that, with statistics like these, guardianship is an essential service not only for the individuals whose lives are restored with guardianship, but to the community. Without LSF, Sarasota County would be left with hundreds of individuals in need of sustained, intensive care.
It is also easy to see with such statistics that the need far outstrips LSF’s current capacity to serve everyone who needs LSF guardianship. In order to manage current and future caseload needs, LSF relies on continued and increased philanthropic partnership with individuals, foundations, and other community entities.
Background Statement
LSF Guardianship got its start in Sarasota 25 years ago,
serving almost 1,500 people in Sarasota County who, without LSF Guardianship,
may have been left to suffer and die alone and afraid.
In the late 1980s, Lutheran Services Florida began noticing that more and more people were left to fend for themselves, who weren’t even able to care for themselves. Determined to help, LSF started the guardianship program in 1990. Compelled by our belief that every life has value and everyone should live with dignity, LSF has, through thick and thin, remained committed to serving some of our community’s most vulnerable, often unseen, individuals.
LSF is the largest provider of guardianship services in Sarasota County for people – young adults to elderly -- who are unable to adequately care for themselves. Sometimes this determination is made by loving family members who want the best for their mothers or fathers or siblings or children, even grandchildren. Sometimes this determination is made by a judge because there are no family members around to make that decision or because the ones who are have harmed or victimized their incapacitated family member in some way.
People come to LSF sometimes victimized, sometimes with debilitating mental or physical health conditions, usually beyond hope and quite often afraid. With the care and attention of LSF Guardianship, people’s lives, whatever the age, whatever the circumstance, are restored beyond mere stability. LSF helps people to live with dignity and hope.
Areas Served
Areas Served Comments
The LSF guardianship program provides services in Sarasota and throughout Sarasota County.
Service Categories
Primary Org Type
Human Services
Secondary Org Type
Human Services
Tertiary Org Type
Human Services
Statement from the Board Chair/Board President
The Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) Board of Directors is dedicated to strategically positioning one of Florida’s largest and most prominent nonprofit and human services agencies so that LSF can help transform the lives of as many people as possible. What this means from the vantage point of an individual board member, and as Board Chair in particular, is that our LSF board leadership must include more than mere risk and compliance oversight of LSF’s 60 plus programs. As board chair, it has been my pleasure and honor to challenge LSF to manage its incredible growth curve while continuing to maintain its impeccable service record. With a footprint of over two-thirds of Florida’s counties, serving nearly 900,000 children and families, this is no small task. But the Board is a professional one and has risen to the task in some rather astounding ways.
Even though inspiring, the variety within the LSF service portfolio alone – from Guardianship to Head Start to youth shelters, foster care, adoption, not to mention immigration and refugee services, disaster relief and mental health services – might seem overwhelming; but the Board of Directors ably and quickly redesigned and redeveloped LSF’s strategic management approach. Fostered by its commitment to learning and good governance, the redesign and redevelopment allowed for us to mitigate the more critical challenges that come with rapid growth, no matter how well planned that growth may be, and capitalize on the inherent opportunities that growth brings. Ensuring that LSF remains a premier organization with services that transform lives and, thereby, communities, has been key in my tenure as Board Chair.
Statement from the CEO/Executive Director
When people ask me about Guardianship and our essential work in Sarasota, I first share with them the story of Lois and Frank, two people we served through Guardianship:
What the Sarasota police learned when they escorted Fred home after finding him disoriented and confused, broke the hearts of well-meaning neighbors who hadn’t wanted to intrude. Fred and Lois had lived an uppermiddle class life in a beautiful neighborhood. But what the police found was a couple in dire need. Immobile, Lois had been stranded in an armchair for days. Dehydrated and unable to move, Lois was sick and afraid. The house, once so well known for its beauty and cleanliness, was designated a health hazard by the police, it was in such a state of disarray and filth. With no family and no one else to turn to, Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) stepped in and became their guardian. Now in a nursing home, receiving appropriate care, Lois credits LSF for saving her life and keeping Fred, now diagnosed with dementia, safe.
That story is one of thousands, but it highlights how essential a service guardianship is not only to the individuals we directly serve, but to the community as a whole. Most people are amazed at the quality of intensive case management services we provide with rather nominal resources. We are only able to do so in partnership with individuals from within and around Sarasota.
However, the guardianship program is at a critical juncture. Without increased support from Sarasota's civic-minded citizenry, LSF will not be able to continue to serve under-served, indigent people. I am hopeful that Sarasotans will begin to see just how essential guardianship is to all who live in Sarasota and will increase its support of this often quiet, but essential community service.
CEO/Executive Director
CEO/Executive Director
Mr. Samuel M Sipes
CEO Term Start
Sept 2007
CEO/Executive Director Email
ssipes@lsfnet.org
Experience
Samuel Sipes came to LSF in September 2007 from an executive position with Lutheran Services of the South, in Austin, TX. He holds a Master's degree in Social Work and has wide experience in social services, child welfare, and senior citizen welfare programs.
Former CEOs/Executive Directors
Staff & Volunteer Statistics
Full Time Staff
1314
Part Time Staff
63
Staff Retention Rate %
74
Professional Development
Yes
Contractors
0
Volunteers
250
Management Reports to Board
Yes
CEO/Executive Director Formal Evaluation
Yes
Senior Management Formal Evaluation
Yes
Non-Management Formal Evaluation
Yes
Collaborations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and ELCA Florida-Bahamas SynodLutheran Church–Missouri Synod and LCMS Florida-Georgia District
Lutheran Disaster Response
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Lutheran Services in America
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Central Florida Behavioral Health Network
ChildNet Inc.
Children’s Network of Southwest Florida
Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County
City of Pensacola
Eckerd Community Alternatives
Escambia County
Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida Department of Health
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
Florida Network of Youth and Family Services
Hillsborough Co.Board of County Commissioners, Head Start/Early Head tart
Lakeview Center
Lee County
Miami-DadeCounty
Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida(Victims of Crime Act rants)
Okaloosa County
Our Kids
Santa Rosa County
Sarasota County
South Florida Workforce Investment Board
Tampa Bay Work Force Alliance, Inc.
United Way
United Way South County
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
WorkNet Pinellas
Youth and Family Services Network
External Assessments and Accreditations
Risk Management Provisions
Government Licenses
Organization Licensed by the Government
No
Plans
Fundraising Plan
No
Communication Plan
No
Strategic Plan
Yes
Strategic Plan Years
3
Strategic Plan Adopted
June 2014
Management Succession Plan
No
Continuity of Operations Plan
No
Policies
Nondiscrimination Policy
Yes
Whistle Blower Policy
No
Document Destruction Policy
No
Directors and Officers Insurance Policy
No
Policies and Procedures
Yes
Board Chair
Board Chair
Mr Bill Haueisen
Company Affiliation
retired
Board Term
Oct 2010 to Oct 2019
Board Chair Email
bhaueisen@srgtampa.com
Board Members
Constituency Includes Client Representation
Yes
Board Ethnicity
African American/Black
2
Asian American/Pacific Islander
0
Caucasian
6
Hispanic/Latino
0
Native American/American Indian
0
Other
0 0
Board Gender
Male
5
Female
3
Unspecified
0
Governance
Board Term Lengths
3
Board Term Limits
3
Board Orientation
Yes
Number of Full Board Meetings Annually
4
Board Meeting Attendance %
84
Board Self-Evaluation
Yes
Written Board Selection Criteria
Yes
Board Conflict of Interest Policy
Yes
% of Board Making Monetary Contributions
100
% of Board Making In-Kind Contributions
100
Fiscal Year Projections
Fiscal Year Begins
2016
Fiscal Year Ends
2017
Projected Revenue
$216,500,000.00
Projected Expenses
$216,400,000.00
Organization has Endowment
No
Capital Campaign
Currently In a Capital Campaign
No
Anticipate Campaign within 5 years?
No
Campaign Purpose
Campaign Goal
Campaign Dates
0 to 0
Amount Raised To Date
0 as of 0
Audit/Financial Documents
Historical Financial Review
CEO/Executive Director Compensation
$200,001 - Plus
Tax Credits
No
Solvency
Short Term Solvency