Telling the Truth Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263794383
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Brookfield, WI, USA
Phone
2627884648
Rating
54
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,707,251
Expenses
$921,057
Assets
$1,277,601
Liabilities
$76,149

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE MAYER (PRESIDENT)
  • ERIK ULVOG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • GEORGE BOGDANOVICH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • GEORGE BOGDANOVICH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $98,219 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Telling the truth uses media to share bible teachings with people throughout the world seeking answers about god, helping them to know christ and experience life in him.

What it reported doing in 2024

Telling the truth broadcasts daily and weekly half-hour programs featuring the bible teaching of stuart and jill briscoe throughout the united states and the united kingdom through our digital ministry. Telling the truth also uses thousands of bible teaching resources from the briscoes to reach millions of listeners, viewers, and readers around the world through numerous websites and mobile apps, social media outlets, email, and direct postal mail - all aimed to help people know christ and experience life in all its fullness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 35
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 28%; rating input score 28
  • Program expense ratio: 49.8%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 46.1%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 28% of revenue deployed · 49.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $459K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $129K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 28/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.