Inspiration Ministries

Legal name: The Inspirational Network Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570931093
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Charlotte, NC, US
Phone
+1 (803) 578-1806
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religious Television
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$35,338,832
Expenses
$28,273,578
Assets
$353,695,239
Liabilities
$63,875,678

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Charles David Cerullo (Director / President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Charles David Cerullo (Director / President & CEO): $5,039,197 total reported compensation
  • Dale S Ardizzone Esq (General Counsel & Corp Secretary): $2,107,412 total reported compensation
  • Robert I Brace (CFO & Corp Treasurer): $835,359 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Shining the light of the Gospel on every continent.

What it reported doing in 2024

The promotion, production, and provision of religious, charitable, and educational programming communicating the gospel to peoples of the world though diverse media technologies, ranging from linear television and various server-based platforms including broadband, Internet, Social Media, wireless, as well as books, magazines, and digital articles. The potential television audience is more than 1 billion households domestically and internationally. The Ministry engages in online evangelism and works to enhance the Christian spiritual development of men, women, and children. Ministry program services include the distribution of direct Bible teaching and preaching, music shows, documentaries about the Christian faith, values-based entertainment programming, children's and teen's programming, articles, books, and other materials to disciple and encourage people in their walk of faith. The Ministry operates an international prayer center to respond to calls, emails, and mailed requests for prayer from people worldwide.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 56
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 65.9%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 71.1%; rating input score 71; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 25%; rating input score 25; 6th 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: 20%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.51; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 70% of revenue deployed · 65.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5M · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $20.1M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 19 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.