The Prayer Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760500530
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7137238187
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$180,361
Expenses
$261,944
Assets
$884,965
Liabilities
$126,874

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • SUZETTE CALDWELL (CHAIRPERSON)
  • JANE COSTELLO (TREASURER)
  • JOSEPH HIGH (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Lord has given The Prayer Institute a powerful vision of **_“Taking The World by Prayer!”_** For more than twenty-five years, our purpose has been clear – pray effective, efficacious prayers that will produce God’s plans on Earth and build an army of praying believers. To learn more about the Vision & Mission of The Prayer Institute Click here. To learn more about the Vision & Mission of The Prayer Institute Click here Pastor Suzette T. Caldwell.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our small team worked tirelessly to continue programming while we were in transition. Here are a few highlights from 2022: in march, the national prayer connection (npc) commemorated one year with over 150 participants representing 35 states and several different countries logging in each week to join us in intercessory prayer. In april we launched our first national prayer walk where believers from more than 20 states gathered with small groups to safely pray for their communities using our national prayer walk guide. We also began the 8-week virtual prayer 101 class and 17 new students were trained. In july, we welcomed our new executive director, nickcole byrd to the team. Since nickcoles arrival, we have continued with programming as we work to tailor our message. In september, over 100 people signed up to attend the tpi virtual meet n greet. Guests met our new executive director and were encouraged with the message dont let your fire burn out as october rolled around, we were in our second week of a 21-day prayer challenge. Over 150 participants signed up and were given access to a prayer guide to support the message led by challenge leaders.

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 94% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 64.3%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -45.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.38; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 94% of revenue deployed · 64.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $169K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.