The Foundry
Legal name: Foundry Training Group
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 862914694
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
- Phone
- 6167992083
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Protestant
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $276,598
- Expenses
- $261,920
- Assets
- $48,957
- Liabilities
- $-168
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Sarah Behm (Director of Operations, President)
Highest reported compensation
- Branson Parler (Director of Theological Education): $97,220 total reported compensation
- Jeff Fisher (Director of Spiritual Formation): $85,299 total reported compensation
- Sarah Behm (Director of Operations, President): $46,926 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to strengthen and support church leaders at every level with biblical and practical training. The Foundry team initially connected while working at Kuyper College. Because of our connections to local churches, we began to dream of more Spirit-driven, innovative ways to equip churches and church leaders. Through a season of fasting and prayer, we heard God clearly calling us to start something new that would make biblical and practical ministry training more accessible to church leaders at every level. We love Jesus and the church, and we seek to gather communities of learning within and among churches so that we can all be forged further into the image of Christ.
What it reported doing in 2024
Institute of Ministry Leadership - The Foundry offers seminary-level training on site and packaged in a sustainable rhythm. Our church-centered model focuses on ministry-related outcomes in participants' current ministry context, connecting course learning with the real-life ministry happening in the local church. For 2024-25, The Foundry completed the 2-year course cycle in Kalamazoo, MI and in Zeeland, MI, began the 2-year course cycle in Grand Rapids (at Fifth Reformed and Madison, and then combined at Remembrance Church), and launched another 2-year course cycle at the Kalamazoo location. Across these sites we offered 18 courses that had 39 learners at the highest and averaged 15 per course. People from more than 20 churches (from 6 different denominations/networks) participated in these courses.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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.
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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 53
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 55.1%; rating input score 55
- Program expense ratio: 58.2%; rating input score 58
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: Limited
- 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: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 55.1% of revenue deployed · 58.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $152K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.