Episcopal Preaching Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311076110
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Springfield, NJ, USA
Phone
9734670070
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$376,767
Expenses
$645,513
Assets
$3,478,790
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Peter Wild (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Peter Wild (Executive Director): $85,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The foundation exists to promote and support preaching excellence in the Episcopal Church. The organization's focus on preaching reflects the importance of good preaching to the vitality of the church. Preaching is cited in national surveys (Gallup, 2017, and Pew Research Center, 2016) to be the leading factor in choosing a place of worship and attending services.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Lay Preacher Training Initiative ("LPTI") The four-year grant from Trinity Church Wall Street (2021-2024 for the creation, pilot testing, and national rollout of this program concluded in December 2024. In June 2025, 12 Episcopal dioceses were actively training approximately 70 new lay preachers using the robust one-year curriculum. Additionally, the curriculum is now being adapted with funding from the Iona Collaborative of Seminary of the Southwest, for integration into the Iona Curriculum for training future clergy and lay preachers in the 30 dioceses subscribing to the Iona Collaborative curriculum. The LPTI program draws on EPF's self-study homiletics (preaching) curriculum developed in 2020 in partnership with Seminary of the Southwest's Iona Collaborative. The Lay Preaching program is now self-funding through a combination of subscription revenue from Dioceses and grants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 76% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -71.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.39; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $541K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.