Operation Blessing

Legal name: Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541382657
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Phone
1.800.730.2537
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
International, Foreign Affairs
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$78,244,217
Expenses
$76,873,204
Assets
$43,533,486
Liabilities
$8,218,376

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GORDON P ROBERTSON (PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR)
  • JAMES R BARR JR (VICE PRESIDENT / CFO)
  • MARVIN B EDWARDS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RONDA F SHERMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • Steven W O'Grady (Former Vice President (Until Feb. 13, 2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • GORDON P ROBERTSON (PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR): $957,670 total reported compensation
  • JAMES R BARR JR (VICE PRESIDENT / CFO): $323,310 total reported compensation
  • MARVIN B EDWARDS (VICE PRESIDENT): $298,683 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Operation Blessing brings help and hope to a hurting world, empowering people in need through compassionate Christ-centered relief and development programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

International relief: during fy25, ob held international mobile medical clinics that provided free medical care including general medical and dental services. Ob also distributed medicine and medical supplies to partners around the world, which went to outfit resource poor areas benefiting children and adults alike . Ob provided many life-changing surgeries such as cleft lip and palate, cataract and more to those in need. Ob also equips community members to become community health volunteers who can provide basic lifesaving skills to members of their community for injury, illness, and more. Operation blessing was instrumental in feeding hungry people around the world. To help people put food on the table, operation blessing equipped individuals with marketable job skills, small business opportunities, and lifeskills in countries such as honduras, india, guatemala, and thailand. From training in food production and animal husbandry to cosmetology skills and sewing centers, ob provided those in need with the resources and skills to provide for their families and strengthen communities through income generation. During fy25, ob responded to natural disasters and human crisises around the world. This includes responding to disasters in the following 12 countries: brazil, indonesia, japan, kenya, myanmar, the philippines, poland, somalia, spain, thailand, taiwan, and ukraine. In countries around the world, ob utilized a variety of techniques to provide access to clean water in communities through wells and community water systems and sanitation and hygiene education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 70% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 28th 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: 1.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 39 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $70.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $958K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $926K reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 21 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.