Blessman International Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421523757
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Urbandale, IA, USA
Phone
5153435920
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Support N.E.C.
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,807,938
Expenses
$2,520,102
Assets
$2,557,893
Liabilities
$76,355

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES L BLESSMAN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DUSTIN BLESSMAN (Director): $119,480 total reported compensation
  • BRETT HENDRICKSON (Executive Dir.): $98,750 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Blessman international, inc. Exists to help meet the physical, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people of south africa, with special attention to children, by providing nutritional support, housing, skills training, pastoral training, and basic necessities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Blessman international executes its mission by raising funds and making regular contributions to blessman international, south africa (blessman sa), a south african not-for-profit organization. Funding from blessman in 2025 provided for the construction of 23 new toilet units at rural schools and child development centers. The sports complex continued to provide a gospel-centered atmosphere of friendly sports competition in soccer and netball. Blessman distributed 3,284 reusable hygiene kits to girls, 726 pairs of shoes, and 604 pairs of eyeglasses to south african children. The celebrate recovery program continues to grow, and we currently have 250+ young adults attending weekly meetings to combat addictions, mental health, hurts, and hangups. We continue to drill wells to supply needed drinking water and have drilled an additional 30 wells in 2025. These wells include water meters to record the amount of water supplied. We continue the child sponsorship program (one child at a time) where sponsors from the us can sponsor a child for $44/month or $528/year to provide food, education assistance, and spiritual formation. Currently, 87 children are sponsored. We anticipate growth in our child sponsorship program, expecting to have 250 children sponsored by the end of 2026. Blessman international partners with a network of feeding hubs throughout south africa, eswatini, and lesotho that allows us to feed 25,000 children, five days a week. The mountain view farm makes a great impact by producing 100,000 eggs every month for the child feeding initiative. Additionally, the mountain view farm is the host for agricultural training to instruct individuals on growing gardens at schools, hospitals, and at home. In 2025, 110 volunteer missionaries traveled to south africa ministering to the impoverished children blessman international serves.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 58.3%; rating input score 58; 11th 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: 10.3%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.7% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $119K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.