The Colossian Forum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274553768
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Phone
6163286016
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,667,533
Expenses
$1,870,944
Assets
$6,525,579
Liabilities
$514,593

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL GULKER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL GULKER (PRESIDENT): $151,608 total reported compensation
  • TANNER SMITH (CHIEF OF STA): $136,051 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA SHULTS (CHIEF PARTNE): $126,117 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We give christians hope and a plan to navigate conflict with courage and love.

What it reported doing in 2025

The colossian forum (tcf) takes its name and inspiration from the apostle paul's stunning proclamation in colossians 1:17 that "all things hold together in christ." today, in a time of deep divisions between christians, st. Paul's six words change everything. They reveal that all reality is ultimately united in jesus-and therefore all divisions and animosities are reconciled in him. Tcf is dedicated to reclaiming this liberating truth and proclaiming it to all christians who are divided. Since tcf's founding, we have primarily done this work by inviting people into conversations on contentious topics through the hosting of public and private forums, providing educational resources, and offering christian scholarship. In 2022, we launched a new program aimed at church, christian school, and nonprofit organization leadership. This program, called wayfinder, aims to extend our mission into the life of a church, school, or business. The program trains and coaches leaders in practices of christian conflict transformation with the aim of building an intentional and invitational culture around conflict. Wayfinder delivers both hope in the face of confict and practical and effective tools that leaders can use to collectively engage conflict in their communities in ways that grow love of god and neighbor.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 21.6%; rating input score 22
  • Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 63rd 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: 71.9%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.49; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 21.6% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 11 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $108K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.