Gospel Tract Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
440651290
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Independence, MO, USA
Phone
8164616086
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Printing, Publishing
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$304,997
Expenses
$365,413
Assets
$309,907
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Phillip Buttram (President)
  • Christine Buttram (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Frances I Cox (Secretary)
  • Phillip Buttram (President)
  • Christine Buttram (Vice President)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To follow and support the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives, our ministry by printing, distributing, teaching and supporting His Word to the world and ministering to the other ministries and the needy in the USA and other nations, wither free or in bonds.

What it reported doing in 2024

Writing, publishing and distributing religious/biblical material including tracts and bibles without charge. Approximately 10 Bibles mailed and 724,000 pieces of tracts/literature produced

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 53
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.3%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 58.7%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -19.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.3% of revenue deployed · 58.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $214K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.