Echo Ministries Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261510058
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Helen, GA, USA
Phone
7703169200
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$295,464
Expenses
$307,818
Assets
$152,546
Liabilities
$5,254

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gregory Ford (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gregory Ford (CEO): $69,961 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Christian ministry creating community for single adults to grow in their relationshiop with Jesus Christ and one another.

What it reported doing in 2024

Spiritual growth is designed to challenge and equip singles to deepen their intimacy and knowledge of God, plus surrender to His plan and purpose. These include bible studies, prayer meetings, devotionals, discipleship, retreats, worship services, and speakers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% 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.
  • 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.6%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $120.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.6% of revenue deployed · 85.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $264K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.