Peace on Earth Ministries
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 333373625
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Joplin, MO, USA
- Phone
- 4176270325
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $226,020
- Expenses
- $199,783
- Assets
- $156,146
- Liabilities
- $2,769
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Victor Knowles (President)
- Lincoln Knowles (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Victor Knowles (President): $29,557 total reported compensation
- Lincoln Knowles (Vice President): $19,000 total reported compensation
- William Wadell (Treasurer): $8,918 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Peace on Earth Ministries (POEM), Joplin, MO, exists to build unity between Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in America so that together Christians and churches can join together in ministering to needy Christian projects in other parts of the world, i.e., Poland, Russia, Ukraine, India, Cuba, and other places that need assistance from POEM.
What it reported doing in 2025
Publications: POEM produces two publications - One Body, a quarterly magazine promoting unity between Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in America and a monthly ministry newsletter called the Knowlesletter. Victor Knowles also writes books on the Christian faith.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- 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; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 11.6%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 28.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $160K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.