Compassion Connection

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201555570
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Palm Desert, CA, USA
Phone
7606259390
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$206,231
Expenses
$205,166
Assets
$396,602
Liabilities
$13,278

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE YOUNGREN (CEO/PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVE YOUNGREN (CEO/PRESIDENT): $66,000 total reported compensation
  • SANDRA YOUNGREN (TRUSTEE): $8,000 total reported compensation
  • RHONDA HALL (CFO/SECRETARY): $1,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Connecting kingdom resources by training and supporting pastors and church planters in ecuador. Help catalyze relationships between churches in the united states and ecuador through shared projects, outreach, and funding requests. Our goal is to establish long-lasting relationships between churches sharing in the work of the gospel.

What it reported doing in 2025

Pastor training- believing strongly in the need to have pastors, church planters, and the ministry leaders within the local church to be solidly trained in theological and biblical truth, as well as having a life, both personal and ministerial, that reflects the character and virtues that the scriptures demand (1timothy 3, titus 1), compassion connection has developed a ministerial training program involving a curriculum of 27 classes given in 9 modules of 1-week intensives over a course of 3 years. These modules are progressive in nature. For those who complete modules 1-3 they will receive a "basic certificate" which indicates that they have had a foundational exposure to the scriptures, basic doctrines and personal discipleship in their devotional life and spiritual disciplines. For those completing 1-6, they will receive a "teacher's certificate" which they can present to their local churches, indicating that they have taken courses in the proper interpretation of scripture, the correct way of communicating the scriptures as well as areas of discipleship in marriage, family and ongoing integrity in their lives. Finally, for those completing modules 1-9, they will receive a "pastoral certificate" which they can also present to their local church leadership indicating that they have taken advanced courses in theology, church ministry, church planting and mission work.

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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 59
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 70.7%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.5%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.93; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.8%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 70.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $145K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.