Courage for Life Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461567753
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Marietta, GA, USA
Phone
4047917091
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Family Counseling

Reported finances

Revenue
$586,736
Expenses
$413,115
Assets
$970,278
Liabilities
$2,586

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

People named in this filing

  • TONYA CARRUTHERS (BOARD MEMBER)
  • KATHLEEN COOKE (BOARD MEMBER)
  • KELLY DENNIS (BOARD MEMBER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Organization's mission: courage for life exists to encourage individuals to embrace their god-given courage for life. We create emotional health, spiritual growth, and bible study resources to disciple individuals to grow in their relationships with god and others. We desire to serve anyone who aspires to live the abundant life god intended for them with specific focus on incarcerated individuals, those who have experienced trauma, abuse, and addiction, and anyone who desires to grow in their relationship with god.

What it reported doing in 2024

Prison ministry program: courage for life's prison ministry provides resources at no cost to incarcerated individuals, the prisons, jails, chaplains, or volunteers serving the incarcerated. Through our prison ministry, we offer incarcerated men and women opportunities to participate in our in-person discipleship classes utilizing our courage for my life resources (workbooks, dvds, and study bibles). We are committed to measuring the impact of our ministry and the effectiveness of our resources. We use pre- and post-questionnaires to assess participants' emotional and spiritual growth which provides their emotional and spiritual state at the outset and gauge the program's impact on their lives after completion. Our prison ministry program provides incarcerated men and women with the discipleship resources they need to grow emotionally and spiritually, no matter their circumstances. Additionally, we provide incarcerated men and women with access to courage for life's audio bible in english and spanish as well as our video bible studies via department of corrections state-issued inmate tablets. We support ongoing discipleship of incarcerated men and women by resourcing and equipping chaplains and/or volunteers to address emotional health and spiritual growth through facilitating our courage for my life classes using our workbooks and video teaching series. We also distribute our print courage for life study bible for men and the courage for life study bible for women empowering them to study the bible for themselves and grow in their relationship with god. We believe that every person is created with a purpose and potential, and we are committed to empowering individuals to live fulfilling lives through the transformative power of the gospel while they are incarcerated.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.6%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.35; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55% of revenue deployed · 77.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $319K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.