Awana

Legal name: Awana Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830662317
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
St Charles, IL, USA
Phone
6302132000
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$238,504
Expenses
$291,083
Assets
$4,569,415
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN WHITE (PRESIDENT, ACI COO)
  • MATTHEW MARKINS (SECRETARY/TREASURER, ACI CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW MARKINS (SECRETARY/TREASURER, ACI CEO): $259,639 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN WHITE (PRESIDENT, ACI COO): $195,940 total reported compensation
  • SHAWN THORNTON (DIRECTOR): $2,500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Awana is a worldwide nonprofit ministry focused on providing Bible-based evangelism and discipleship for ages 2 to 18, equipping leaders to reach children with the Gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship so kids can know, love, and serve Jesus. As a nonprofit on mission to spread the hope of Jesus, it’s our prayer that Awana reflects His teaching in the way we function as a professional organization and a team. Focus on Outcomes We work with intention and focus on making an impact through our mission: equipping leaders to reach children with the Gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship. President Emeritus, Compassion International “I learned about a program called Awana, a program that teaches kids about Jesus and helps them develop socially, relationally, spiritually. I realized this was what I’d been praying for. Pastor Kita.

What it reported doing in 2024

In carrying out such purposes, awana foundation will receive, manage and distribute complex assets for awana clubs international; manage the awana clubs international endowment fund; and take such other actions to assist the work of awana clubs international as are consistent with its tax-exempt purposes. The awana foundation may also acquire by purchase or gift, such property whether real or personal to facilitate the foregoing purposes, and to have and exercise all other powers, rights and privileges granted by the state of Illinois.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 56
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -22%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.7; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 150% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -114.6% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 85.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $250K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $260K · 3 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.