The Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 901117779
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
- Phone
- 8773225527
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,769,914
- Expenses
- $7,406,577
- Assets
- $3,598,928
- Liabilities
- $638,622
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John Stonestreet (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- John Stonestreet (PRESIDENT): $282,829 total reported compensation
- Peter Marra (Chief Operating Officer): $214,847 total reported compensation
- Scott Miller (Chief Financial Officer): $189,059 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 Colson Center equips Christians to live in this cultural moment with clarity, confidence, and courage. Board Members Our Board brings skill and diversity to the work of the Colson Center. These faithful leaders serve on a volunteer basis. John Zeiser. Our Board brings skill and diversity to the work of the Colson Center. John Zeiser John Zeiser. Colson Training Every Christian can live like one Learn how Colson Center resources equip believers to live with clarity, confidence, and courage in this time and place.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Colson Fellows program mobilizes and equips Christians for their calling through a nine-month intensive cohort-based training course. This program operates in over 70 regional and 13 international cohorts, as well as 88 churches which mobilizes over 1,700 believers annually.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 78.6%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- 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: 4.7%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.6%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 78.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $283K · 17 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $281K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.