Mel Trotter Ministries
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 381410467
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Grand Rapids, MI, United States
- Phone
- (616) 454-8249
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $24,750,248
- Expenses
- $19,331,171
- Assets
- $51,549,652
- Liabilities
- $18,647,535
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ADRIENNE GOODSTAL (PRESIDENT)
- CHRISTOPHER PALUSKY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- DENNIS VAN KAMPEN (PAST CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- GORDON OOSTING (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $134,348 total reported compensation
- ADRIENNE GOODSTAL (PRESIDENT): $110,674 total reported compensation
- MICHELE MCISSAC (CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER): $98,283 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Mel Trotter Ministries exists to demonstrate the compassion of Jesus Christ toward anyone experiencing hunger and homelessness. Shelter Services Every day homeless men and women walk through our doors because they have no one else to turn to for help. They come in broken, no hope, searching for a hand up. No one is beyond God’s grace and forgiveness. Come with us on the journey through sharing your expertise, facilitating classes, mentoring men and women as they find their pathway to hope. If you have a passion to help individuals realize their full potential, we need you! Join us on our mission of ending homelessness, one life at a time. Clinics.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2025 (fy), the ministries provided the following to disadvantaged in west Michigan: provided bed nights for 2,640 men, women, and children; served 185,768 hot meals, an average 510 per day; received food donated for our food programs, value at $2,385,772; provided medical, vision, chiropractic, legal, and dental clinics; moved 391 people into housing; diverted 118 families from homelessness; helped 361 people secure employment; connected 215 people through street outreach.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 74
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.7%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 75.4%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 21.9%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.67; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 72.7% of revenue deployed · 75.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $14.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 18 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.