The Crete Collective

What it reported doing in 2024

For 2024, we continued our mission to plant churches in neglected and vulnerable Black and Brown neighborhoods. We achieved the following:1.We continued funding our supported church plantsUpdate on the 2020 CohortIn 2020, we selected three church plants for funding support: Christ the Redeemer (Pine Bluff, AR)Acts Church (Yonkers, NY)Bluegrass Community Church (Lexington, KY)In the summer of 2022, we completed our first 2-year MOU with these plants. In 2024, we completed our second 2-year MOU, which completes our initial commitment to these church plants. Going forward, we will assess each churchs need for continued funding and stability. Acts Church and Christ the Redeemer continued as local congregations hosting public services and serving their communities.In 2024, Bluegrass Community Church closed as a congregation. Their MOU was terminated.Update on the 2021 CohortIn 2021, we selected four new church plants for funding support: Congress Heights Community Church (Washington, DC)Identity Church (Daytona, FL)The Light (West Palm Beach)The West (Houston, TX)These plants completed their initial two years of funding on June 30, 2023. They began their second 2-year MOU in July 2023.After nearly two years of planning and organizing, The Light launched its first public services and constituted as a local church in April 2023.In November 2023, Congress Heights Community Church disbanded as a congregation. Their MOU was terminated.Update on the 2022 CohortIn 2022, we selected three new church plants for funding support: Redeeming Grace (Anaheim, CA)Sojourn Southside (Houston, TX)The Way (Tampa, FL)Each of these churches continues to meet publicly and to serve their communities in a variety of ways. Both Sojourn Southside and The Way received awards from community organizations for their local service.Funding SabbaticalIn 2023, the board of The Crete Collective unanimously approved a one-year sabbatical on funding any new church plants. In 2024, the board extended the funding sabbatical for another year, with one exception. In lieu of our funding commitment to Bluegrass Community Church, the board elected to provide the remaining funding to Renewal Greensboro and Pastor Grant Yowe.In 2024, our total number of funded church plants held steady at nine (9). 2.Church Planter Training and CoachingIn 2024, we continued a regular program of training and providing coaching calls with our funded church planters and aspiring planters. We held monthly training calls with an average of 15 church planters and aspiring church planters. We provided additional coaching to approximately five (5) pastors.In 2024, we revised our training curriculum to include four tracks. We graduated our original planters and trainees to a second track focused on organizational leadership. We welcomed 15 new planters into track 1 of our training program, focused on the health and well-being of the pastor as leader.Training and coaching cover a range of ministry and leadership issues, including preaching, evangelism, pastoral care, church management, and community engagement. Planters can schedule individual coaching meetings as needed to help transfer training and teaching to their context.3.In-Person GatheringsIn 2024, we hosted two in-person training meetings. In May 2024, we held a 2.5 day gathering of church planters and their wives in Washington, DC. Planters shared updates, learned from DC-area pastors and leaders, and focused on the health of their marriages.In October 2024, we held our third national gathering of The Crete Collective in Phoenix, AZ. Nearly 100 people from both member churches and church plants attended. The meeting featured teaching from Crete Collective members, subject matter experts, and opportunities for networking and relationship building.4.FundraisingWe continued our efforts to raise funds for planting churches in neglected and vulnerable Black and Brown neighborhoods. In 2024, we raised approximately $376,749 from individuals and suppo

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
• Program expense ratio: 96.7%; rating input score 97
• Fundraising efficiency: $33.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -0.6%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 34.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings