Children's HopeChest

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330430285
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palmer Lake, CO, USA
Phone
719.487.7800
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,614,041
Expenses
$6,828,705
Assets
$2,475,663
Liabilities
$271,777

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ken Sparks (President and CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ken Sparks (President and CEO): $189,547 total reported compensation
  • Wil Crooks (VP of Strategic Partnerships): $127,652 total reported compensation
  • Rachel Andrews (VP of International Operations): $123,080 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Igniting Hope in the world—on a mission, inspired by Christ’s love, to empower vulnerable children and their families to break the cycle of poverty and create sustainable, thriving communities, starting with the children. Our vision is to ignite hope in the world. Because of that, we are on a mission, inspired by Christ’s love, to empower vulnerable children and their families to break the cycle of poverty and create sustainable, thriving communities, starting with the children. Through our unique Community-to-Community model, we connect U.S. communities with those overseas, where orphaned and impoverished children need support the most. These partnerships create lasting, positive transformation in both communities, encouraging mutual growth and impact. Learn More About Our Model.

What it reported doing in 2024

Children's HopeChest develops highly relational, community-to-community partnerships between Christian communities in North America and communities of orphaned and vulnerable children in 5 countries. We believe the most transformational, holistic, sustainable, and long-term change occurs when one community partners with another. Children's HopeChest engages churches, businesses, and other Christian communities in long-term partnerships that help orphans, vulnerable children and their communities survive, thrive and succeed within their home cultures by:* Empowering local leaders to share the Gospel, reduce poverty, and create self-sufficiency for every child, their homestead, and the greater community.* Equipping partnering communities to directly engage in healthy, international development practices.* Addressing the complex causes of poverty, including material, spiritual, emotional, social, economic, and educational needs.* Tending to the child's holistic needs for survival, community, education, and employment.* Transforming the lives of children through a focus on sustainability, independence, and long-term self-sufficiency,* Transforming the lives of the partnering community members through exposure, education, relationship, and service.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.8%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 68.8% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 10 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.