Foundation for Theological Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
752382114
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
The Woodlands, TX, USA
Phone
2812975900
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$310,453
Expenses
$449,733
Assets
$6,590,572
Liabilities
$365,118

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DR STEVEN MOORE (BOARD MEMBER): $20,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

A foundation for theological education is committed to strengthen theological education in the wesleyan tradition by preparing a new generation of scholars for leadership. It is our mission to create, support and nurture a fellowship of transformational scholars committed to renewal in the church and the advancement of the kingdom of god.

What it reported doing in 2025

General programs: a foundation for theological education inc. (afte) provides financial support for men and women pursuing doctoral studies. Afte also offers grants for international teaching, collaborative research projects, and travel.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 75% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -44.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.65; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $405K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $20K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.