Barefoot Republic Camp and Retreat Center
Legal name: Barefoot Republic Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 621841336
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Nashville, TN, United States
- Phone
- 615-599-9683
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Adult, Child Matching Programs
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,592,227
- Expenses
- $3,084,673
- Assets
- $5,172,449
- Liabilities
- $1,614,344
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- THOMAS RHODES (EXECUTIVE DI): $120,000 total reported compensation
- SCOTT WILLIAMS (FINANCE DIRE): $81,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission at Barefoot Republic is to facilitate Christ-centered relationships between individuals from diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds through an equally diverse platform of artistic, athletic and team-building programs. To date, Barefoot Republic has been able to provide over 25 summers of camp programming. However, initially, due to the nature of the mission and the lack of start-up capital, the Board of Directors felt it crucial to demonstrate the ministry’s impact through hosting camp at local retreat centers and universities. Since our formation in 1999, we have witnessed God’s continued affirmation of our vision. 20,000 campers, 2,500 volunteers and a dramatic increase in financial support led to our first permanent camp in 2009. We praise God for this pivotal step, which provided tremendous encouragement and ensured a bright future for Barefoot...
What it reported doing in 2024
Summer camp - our camp is unlike any other at barefoot, we strive to facilitate christ-centered relationships between individuals from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We believe that camp is special, and that every child should be able to have shared experiences, like camp, to help them grow into who god created them to be. At barefoot republic, we offer a variety of opportunities for children and families to experience the barefoot difference. More than 50% of our campers receive financial assistance. All children are welcome, and no child is turned away due to finances
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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 92.7%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th 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: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -19%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 92.7% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.