Crown Financial Ministries Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581260812
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Knoxville, TN, USA
Phone
8007221976
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,938,373
Expenses
$5,789,442
Assets
$8,045,943
Liabilities
$2,097,613

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Chuck Bentley (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Chuck Bentley (CEO): $237,556 total reported compensation
  • Jerry Tregea (CFO): $176,827 total reported compensation
  • Handre DeJongh (Managing Director of CS): $155,949 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Crown financial ministries, founded in 1976, is dedicated to equipping leaders to help bring freedom, restoration and flourishing in the communities in which they serve. We believe, and have experienced, that most of the world's greatest challenges stem from a lack of understanding of what we've been given, and how to best use it. Crown has taught or equipped tens of millions of people in over 100 nations with the life-transforming message of faithfully living by god's kingdom principles in every area of their lives. The ministry is headquartered in the united states, and has a significant global presence. Crown accomplishes all this with about 25 employees and in partnership with over 10,000 passionate volunteers worldwide who help ignite true freedom.

What it reported doing in 2024

Crown Solutions (CS) - CS advances Crown's mission in three main areas. The first is Awareness, which is mainly accomplished through 1,427 terrestrial radio stations and outlets and reaching a potential 7,341,700 listeners. The second area is Coaching, where Crown's Budget Coaching, Career Direct, and "YES Assessment" help individuals achieve their financial goals. The third area is Community, where Crown serves underserved urban communities, works with international partners in approximately 100 nations, and a Farm and Flourish program delivering solutions for small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa move from dependency to self-sustainability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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.
  • 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 64.3%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • 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: 97.7%; rating input score 98; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th 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: 2.5%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.7% of revenue deployed · 64.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $238K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.