Downline Ministries
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 201374884
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Memphis, TN, USA
- Phone
- 9016835377
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,542,037
- Expenses
- $1,305,023
- Assets
- $1,629,897
- Liabilities
- $309,665
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kennon Vaughan (President)
- Graham Spell (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Graham Spell (Executive Director): $68,532 total reported compensation
- Bethany Scroggins (Director of Finance): $36,442 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Downline's mission is to train and equip believers in disciple-making, enlisting them in the great commission of Jesus Christ, and also to provide the local, national, and international community of Christ-followers with disciple-making tools.
What it reported doing in 2024
Academic training in disciple-making: 244 men and women graduated from our nine-month discipleship training experience, receiving over 150 hours of practical training in discipleship, the grand narrative of scripture, and bibical manhood and womanhood, from teachers from Memphis, TN and across the country. Some students in our institute were also members of our emerging leaders program. These recent college graduates were selected through a lengthy interview process, and moved to Memphis from all over the country. They studied, trained, worked, and volunteered across our great city. By the end of the program, 35 people graduated from Emerging Leaders program. 127 students graduated from the Institute, and 82 students graduated online.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.3%; rating input score 58
- Program expense ratio: 68.4%; rating input score 68
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 15.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 58.3% of revenue deployed · 68.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $892K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.