Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861657031
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Florence, OR, USA
Phone
5419913080
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$82,272
Expenses
$87,417
Assets
$812,009
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dave Owen (President)
  • Phoebe Lowry (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Dave Owen (President)
  • Hewale Innis (Secretary)
  • Phoebe Lowry (Vice President)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

"(1) To operate as a church and provide spiritual services and opportunities for spiritual fellowship to the members of our church.See continued mission statement in schedule O.(2) To keep The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way, in print and widely distributed with the intention of thereby blessing the world. (3) To facilitate the spiritual study and spiritual practice of the spiritual teachings found in The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way by operating a school known as the Essene Mountain of Peace Mystery School: The Academy of Higher Learning.(4) To provide opportunities for those persons that love The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way, and consider it their preferred holy scripture, to fellowship with one another in joyous celebration and worship, both online and in person by operating a church known as the International Congregation of Nasarean Church of The Essene Way."

What it reported doing in 2022

RELIGIOUS SERVICES: The Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah shares the spiritual teachings of the Essene Way, in many various ways. The Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah provides weekly and monthly services that are attended by in person parishioners and by Zoom broadcast. The weekly and monthly service is approximately 90 minutes long and includes readings from multiple people from the followed scripture, The Holy Megillah. Following the shared readings, there is commentary or a sermon from those that lead the scripture reaching, and a sermon from the Senior Priest, Day Owen. A moment for prayers follows the sermon and teachings, and then religious music is played and shared with the congregation by live musicians. Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah also sells spiritual books and materials in it's facility, located in Florence, Oregon. In addition to the weekly and monthly spiritual services, Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah sends out a monthly spiritual newsletter, titled ""Omnah Announcements"", which discusses current events that are relevant to the community and spiritual teachings of the Essene Way, and also includes short translations or spiritual teachings from the Essene Way. Circle of Lovers of the Holy Megillah also offers a weekly 'Essene Yoga' classes led by the Senior Priest, Day Owen. These are administered as an extended activity of the Circle of Lovers through the Lighthouse Spiritual Center for church members and interested people. There is a suggested donation of $5 per session for these classes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

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

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.3%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.29; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 95.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -107.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $87K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2020 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.