The Center For The Research of Early Christian Documents

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300121808
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Phone
9729414521
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
General Science
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,044,092
Expenses
$1,181,217
Assets
$506,550
Liabilities
$179,982

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Daniel B Wallace PhD (CEO/Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Daniel B Wallace PhD (CEO/Executive Director): $161,146 total reported compensation
  • Mark W Gaither (Chief Operating Officer / Secretary): $102,485 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM), under the umbrella of The Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents (CRECD), exists for the following purposes: 1. To make digital photographs of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts so that such images can be preserved, duplicated without deterioration, and accessed by scholars doing textual research. 2. To utilize developing technologies (OCR, MSI, etc.) to read these manuscripts and create exhaustive collations. 3. To analyze individual scribal habits in order to better predict scribal tendencies in any given textual problem. 4. To publish on various facets of New Testament textual criticism. 5. To develop electronic tools for the examination and analysis of New Testament manuscripts. 6. To cooperate with other institutes in the great and noble task of determining the wording of the autographa of the New Testament.

What it reported doing in 2024

Collaborating: CSNTM engages with other institutions and scholars in the academic discipline of New Testament textual scholarship. In 2024, CSNTM hosted its second CSNTM Text & Manuscript Conference, a biennial gathering of the world's leading New Testament textual scholars. The conference was held in Plano, Texas on May 30-31, featuring presentations from 18 world-renowned academics from Europe and the United States, and drew more than 50 attendees. As with the first conference, Hendrickson Publishers will publish a collection of the papers tentatively titled, Intersection: Interdisciplinary Approaches to New Testament Text and Manuscripts. Additionally, CSNTM has completed the arduous process of redesigning its database and website to accommodate a broader range of relevant New Testament resources. The site is currently in beta testing with the full launch scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 66.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $789K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 8 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.