The Christophers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131809274
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2127594050
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,241,137
Expenses
$1,706,766
Assets
$4,317,418
Liabilities
$327,590

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY ELLEN ROBINSON (PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY ELLEN ROBINSON (PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY): $188,297 total reported compensation
  • ANTHONY ROSSI (DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS): $167,599 total reported compensation
  • YANEZA SANTOS (FINANCE MANAGER & ASST. SECRETARY): $143,259 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Grounded in judeo-christian principles, the christophers' mission is to use all forms of media (radio, video, web, print)along with leadership courses, youth contests, and our christopher awards programto encourage individuals of all faiths to put their faith into action, and to remind them of the gospel-based counsel, "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." motivated by a love of god and humanity, all people can be christophers - or christ-bearers - in the course of their daily lives by seeing problems and working to solve them where they are and as best they can. Christophers see these instances as opportunities to be solution-oriented role models, serving as sources of divine light in the darkness of societal ills and personal challenges. In fact, the christopher approach is best summed up in our motto, "it's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." since 1945, we have used our literature, broadcasts, awards, prison ministry, and youth contests.

What it reported doing in 2024

Christopher media: radio/podcast - "christopher closeup" highlights individuals in a wide variety of fields who act as positive influences on people around them in small and extraordinary ways. Subjects covered include spiritual solutions to everyday problems, maintaining hope in the face of hardship, and care for the poor. *recent "christopher closeup" guests include actor, author, and emmy award-winner jonathan jackson, author and television host kathie lee gifford; retired astronaut jose hernandez; broadcast journalist luke russert; cnn correspondent john blake; hallmark channel actress and alzheimer's association spokesperson nikki deloach; "inside edition" correspondent and authr megan alexander; "general hospital" star john j. York; childhood cancer survivor and astronaut hayley arceneaux; actress and singer kristin chenoweth; broadcaster, entrepreneur, and advocate for working mothers paula faris; abc news anchor and christopher award-winning children's book author linsey davis; country music legend dolly parton; singer and humanitarian harry connick jr.; "general hospital" star and mental health advocate maurice benard; New York times best-selling author kate bowler; author and anti-poverty advocate mark shriver; actor and humanitarian gary sinise; and actress/humanitarian bonnie hunt. Everyday people who are making a difference are also featured on the program. Recent examples include delaney coyne, a journalist and disability advocate; sister ave clark, who counsels people dealing with traumas; sister caroline tweedy, rsm, executive director of st. John's bread and life soup kitchen and food pantry; deacon ed shoener, co-founder of the association of catholic mental health ministers; elizabeth humphreys, whose nonprofit "mind what matters" offers help and hope to caregivers for alzheimer's and dementia patients; christopher award-winning author anitra rowe schulte, who advocates for children with disabilities; christopher award-winning filmmaker ted green, whose documentary about baseball great carl erskine highlighted his advocacy for racial equality and embrace of children with special needs; sister larraine lauter, founder of the charity "water with blessings," which provides water filters to communities in impoverished countries; and father greg boyle, founder of homeboy industries, which is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. The weekly program airs on sirius-xm and numerous other stations. The program is also available as a free podcast through the christophers' blog and websiteand on outlets such as apple podcasts, amazon music, spotify, and stitcher. The modern incarnation of "christopher closeup" continues a tradition started in 1952 by our founder, father james keller, when he began the television version of the show featuring such guests as bob hope, jack benny, bing crosby, mario lanza, art linkletter, and more."christopher minutes" are one-minute public service announcements sent to radio stations nationwide, including sirius-xm's the catholic channel. They provide listeners with inspirational stories and practical advice about staying positive in the midst of adversity. "christopher minutes" are also available on our website.television several classic christopher films from the 1950's air periodically on ewtn. And each year during the christmas season numerous tv stations air christopher sponsored clay-animations for kids consisting of "the first christmas," "the chimes," "michael the visitor, and "martin the cobbler."all our online activities are promoted through facebook and x/twitter.christopher leadership workshops - the christopher leadership program offers workshops to adults. Participants explore life's purpose and challenges, build self-confidence, develop leadership qualities, grow in faith and spirituality, sharpen communication skills, and become more optimistic. We hold an annual weekend leadership workshop at the university of saint mary of the l

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 71.6%; rating input score 72; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th 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: -37.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.53; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $188K · 6 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.