Bair Lake Bible Camp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
386088246
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Jones, MI, United States
Phone
269.244.5193
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,300,754
Expenses
$2,013,451
Assets
$6,636,391
Liabilities
$394,741

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DREW GARDNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DREW GARDNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $77,109 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Bair Lake Bible Camp provides a place to experience the truth and love of God in authentic community through Christian camps and retreats. (exists to inspire this generation to encounter God). Thank you for considering partnering with Bair Lake Bible Camp to support our mission of inspiring this generation to encounter God through His Son Jesus Christ! If you’ve experienced the power of Camp first-hand in your own life or seen it in the lives of others, please consider giving a financial gift to support this vital ministry! Bair Lake Bible Camp is a volunteer and donor-supported ministry. All of our ministries – but especially our summer camps and sponsored retreats – would not be possible without the faithful support of people like you to help provide the necessary resources by giving their time, talent, and treasure. We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations a.

What it reported doing in 2025

All revenue and expenses reflect and are used for the primary purpose of the organization. We provide program activities, facilities, printed materials, and a website in order to serve our guests, families and youth campers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.4%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.5%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.3; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.4% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.