Tall Turf Ministries
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 381890465
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
- Phone
- 6164527906
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Camps
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $254,530
- Expenses
- $515,922
- Assets
- $405,795
- Liabilities
- $40,681
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARCUS HARGRAVE (PRESIDENT AN)
Highest reported compensation
- MARCUS HARGRAVE (PRESIDENT AN): $97,418 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To equip youth and families for lives of reconciliation in god's world
What it reported doing in 2025
Summer youth camp - capacity for the program is 128 young people each session. During the camp experience, participants spend time with their peers and staff while eating, sleeping, praying and learning new skills. As these young people build relationships through shared summer adventure camp- five day session where teens build relationships with fellow campers and staff. Senior camp features such adventure activities as hiking, camping, swimming, canoeing and high ropes course experience. Summer family camp held over a weekend, sessions are organized around curriculum, but also offer lots of time for families to hang out and interact. Summer leader in training (lit) program - motivating teens to make positive choices and live lives of service. This program requires participants to serve others, mentor young campers and peers, increase life and entrepreneurial skills and prepare for college and various careers. Year round leader in training (lit) program - up to 10 lit's have been hired during the traditional school year. Firehouse kids - runs throughout the school year and provides a safe place for youth ages 8 to 13 to join in weekly activities, bible studies, mentoring activities, service projects creative dance and worship.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 76% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 16
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -102.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.79; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $439K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.