Houston Responds

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824354555
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
2812013999
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Disaster Preparedness and Relief Services
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$427,615
Expenses
$320,328
Assets
$191,076
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Thomasina Burns (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Jim Herrington (Board Member)
  • Brandon Lackey (Board Member)
  • Tom Comstock (Board Member)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To unite, empower and mobilize churches to multiply collective impact on critical needs in their community.

What it reported doing in 2025

City-Wide Collaborative Initiatives (ServeHTX, HopeFest, Winning Houston, Houston Flourish Forums) The organization leads and supports city-wide initiatives that mobilize volunteers and advance collaborative solutions to community needs. ServeHTX coordinates volunteers across Greater Houston to meet practical community needs through service projects. HopeFest and Winning Houston provide community outreach that addresses both spiritual and practical needs through large-scale engagement efforts. Houston Flourish Forums convene subject matter experts and practitioners to address key issues including food insecurity, housing, mental health, and education, supporting shared learning and action-oriented solutions. Collectively, these initiatives expand regional engagement, strengthen partnerships, and improve community outcomes across Greater Houston.

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 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: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39.7%; rating input score 40
  • Program expense ratio: 53%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 25.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -20.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -20.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -26.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39.7% of revenue deployed · 53% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $170K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 40/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.