Gammon Theological Seminary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580622972
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4045810300
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,298,797
Expenses
$2,682,147
Assets
$17,689,267
Liabilities
$771,028

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • REV DR CANDACE M LEWIS (PRESIDENT-DEAN)

Highest reported compensation

  • REV DR CANDACE M LEWIS (PRESIDENT-DEAN): $233,623 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 mission of gammon theological seminary, a historically african american institution, in partnership with the interdenominational theological center, is to recruit, support, and educate faithful pastors and leaders in their call to ministry in the church, community, and throughout the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 1883 by the methodist episcopal church, with assistance from the freedmen's aid society, gammon theological seminary is one of the 13 theological schools of the united methodist church. The faculty and administration of gammon/itc create an environment where critical thinking, investigative reflection, decision-making and responsible action are fostered.the vision of gammon theological seminary is to educate and equip persons, called by god, to become prophetic leaders for the mission of making disciples of jesus christ for the transformation of the world. Gammon's historic commitment to producing public theologians - men and women who are spiritually astute, intellectually keen, politically sophisticated, and culturally sensitive - is advanced with the establishment of the gammon center for the study of religion and race. The center enables gammon to educate and mobilize seminarians and others to challenge racism throughout the church and around the world. Additionally, the center engages leaders of all ethnicities who desire to work as partners in dismantling racism. The center has at its core three major structural components:- damascus road experience (academic year program open to seminarians, clergy, and lay persons- encounters (retreat style settings called set free and fire and clay)- racial justice institute (a summer residential experience)gammon is positioned to continue the work of developing inclusive, multicultural leadership for the church that is representative of an increasingly global and urbanized society.

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 83% 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: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.5%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 36.6%; rating input score 37
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 18.7%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.6; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.7%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 44.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.5% of revenue deployed · 36.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $980K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $234K · 25 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $115K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.