STEER Inc.

Legal name: Steer Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450262160
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bismarck, ND, United States
Phone
701-258-4911
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,851,438
Expenses
$2,540,783
Assets
$7,942,671
Liabilities
$71,632

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEITH KOST TERM 123124 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO)
  • IVAN FRIESEN TERM 53125 (ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEITH KOST TERM 123124 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO): $125,112 total reported compensation
  • IVAN FRIESEN TERM 53125 (ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $96,816 total reported compensation
  • KARN LAMON (CONTROLLER): $65,246 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

STEERing Money to Missions. The number of member mission organizations grew. STEER begins to show stability. Strengthens all parts of STEER: the Donor, the Farmer/Rancher, and the Missionary for a common purpose. We believe in the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to the right hand of God the Father where He is now making intercession for us. We believe Jesus Christ’s return is imminent, and will be visible and personal. We believe that Adam, created in the image of God, was tempted by Satan, the Devil, and fell. Because of Adam’s sin all men have guilt imputed, are totally depraved, and need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit for salvation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Steer has one program - a 3-way stewardship program.1) by investing in the legacy fund, donors leverage agricultural production to generate annual returns that help fund global mission endeavors.2) farmers and ranchers sign up to receive legacy funds, which they use to purchase livestock or plant crops. The profits from these projects are then used to support their chosen missionaries or mission projects within steer's member organizations. 3) approved member organizations partner with steer to receive long-term financial support, enabling them to continue proclaiming the gospel of jesus christ globally. For these organizations and their missionaries, steer serves as a wonderful channel for receiving prayer and financial backing, embodying a spirit of partnership throughout the body of christ.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 86% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.4%; rating input score 97; 33rd 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; 63rd 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: 10.9%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.13; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.3%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 65 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 62 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.