The Cause
Legal name: The Cause Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 061670270
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
- Location
- Oceanside, CA, USA
- Phone
- (760) 752-2873
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Interfaith Coalitions
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,490,327
- Expenses
- $2,431,835
- Assets
- $1,207,935
- Liabilities
- $203,032
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MORGAN FUNKE (PRESIDENT/CE)
Highest reported compensation
- MORGAN FUNKE (PRESIDENT/CE): $86,443 total reported compensation
- WILLIAM MILLER (CRO): $60,523 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide nonprofit structure, strategic coaching, and community to Christian leaders who serve the underserved worldwide, helping make their visions reality. Christine brings experience in marketing, graphic design, project management, and event planning and is passionate about supporting mission driven work. She helps turn ideas into meaningful action and has been involved in many community volunteer initiatives that strengthen organizations and the communities they serve. Bill Smith. We provide financial, structural, and operational support while preserving autonomy - allowing Partners to focus on ministry, not administration. Whole-Person Support We we walk alongside each leader with holistic support, equipping them spiritually, strategically, and sustainably.
What it reported doing in 2024
We gained 27 new partners, each running their own programs in 2024. We created 2 new resources for partners to get support with fundraising, one of which we ran a few times throughout the year. Of the 27 new partners, 7 are international leaders working in their home country.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as 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: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 65
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.6%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $40.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th 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: 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 26.6% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 34.5% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 76.6% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.