Living Stream (Dba Living Stream Ministry)
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237031637
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Anaheim, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7142366001
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $20,113,226
- Expenses
- $17,657,179
- Assets
- $116,246,513
- Liabilities
- $1,540,816
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Curtis Kennard (VICE PRESIDENT & Treasurer)
- Raymond Graver (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- Martin Fuller (Research Writer): $153,246 total reported compensation
- Tony H Espinosa (Research Writer): $150,764 total reported compensation
- Andrew Delos Reyes (IT Infrastructure Engineer): $139,906 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote the enlightenment and revelation regarding the bible as interpreted by the teachings of watchman nee and witness lee, and to prepare, select and distribute information of all kinds which may be useful for the growth of spiritial life among christians.
What it reported doing in 2024
Living stream ministry provides video, audio, electronic and printed religious materials, translated into multiple languages, which it distributes through our lsm bookstore, churches, bookstores and on the internet. Over 100,000 persons were assisted in 2024 through all program services.
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 92% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 53
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 98%; rating input score 98; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 20%; rating input score 20; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.58; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $14.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $153K · 20 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.9M reported
- Consistency: 33 of 35 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.