Make a Difference Ministries Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582064309
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Ellijay, GA, USA
Rating
46
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,371,315
Expenses
$3,385,935
Assets
$7,327,053
Liabilities
$712,582

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM S CHAPMAN JR (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES WARD (Executive Dir.): $156,000 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM S CHAPMAN JR (President): $148,010 total reported compensation
  • DANNY MCKINNEY (COO): $97,661 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Make A Difference Ministries crafts impactful experiences that develop leaders and engage the heart through summer camps, family retreats, church retreats and group retreats. We use the experience of retreating from the distractions of everyday life to awaken passion in each person, family, and group that enters our grounds, leaving each person focused on pursuing an authentic walk with Jesus Christ.

What it reported doing in 2024

Make A Difference Ministries delivers week-long overnight and day camp sessions for youth (rising kindergarten through rising 12th grade) at our Camp Highland location, as well as programs designed to foster growth in young adults and parents that combine outdoor adventure, personal growth, and faith development. Camp Highland campers participate in a structured schedule of activities designed to foster teamwork, resilience, and spiritual reflection, including high and low ropes courses, lake and watersport activities such as tubing, kayaking, creek walks, team challenges, field games, and group worship and devotional times. Programs are tailored by age group and incorporate both structured instructional activities and free-play time to deepen campers relationships with God and peers. Specialized tracks such as leadership summits and high-adventure outings provide participants with enhanced opportunities to develop leadership skills and apply lessons of character and faith in challenging environments. These programs include facilitated sessions on leadership principles, opportunities for off-site excursions, and immersive wilderness experiences that encourage personal accountability, problem-solving, and perseverance. Make A Difference Ministries also provides retreat experiences for families, churches, schools, and other groups seeking team-building, community engagement, and spiritual enrichment. Retreat programs include ropes course elements, structured group activities, meals and lodging in a camp setting, and staff-led programming designed to strengthen relational bonds and foster purposeful group interaction. Central to all program activities is a focus on relationship-building and character formation grounded in Christian values. Ministry experiences incorporate opportunities for campers and retreat participants to engage in reflective practices, worship, small-group discussions, and intergenerational community events that encourage growth in faith, leadership, perseverance, compassion, and cooperation. This mission-aligned emphasis facilitates personal transformation and supports participants in applying their learning beyond their time with Make A Difference Ministries.

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 9
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.5%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.16; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 13 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.