The Principle Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
430816306
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Overland Park, KS, USA
Phone
8165951000
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,564,968
Expenses
$3,022,108
Assets
$8,393,824
Liabilities
$173,956

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRUCE JEFFREY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRUCE JEFFREY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $177,970 total reported compensation
  • SHANNON HORST (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $131,461 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN MASSEY (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $120,250 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote inspired benevolence in accordance with the teachings of christian science.

What it reported doing in 2025

The principle foundation extended services (tpfes): 1. Embraced: fully - seeks to support students of christian science leaving prison by helping them to adjust to civilian life.2. Offer information services to christian scientists who may need help in getting information on christian science nursing, housing options for senior christian scientists, and help available to them and how to pay for it.3. Providing coordination and support services for collaborative activities within the christian science nursing community.4. Administer a grant program (the international fund for christian science nursing) for patients of christian science nursing outside the USA who may need financial assistance to pay for this care.5. Support an intern program (christian science nursing youth service corps) to help christian scientists, ages 18-30, work and learn at christian science nursing organizations. Communities of christian caring: helps individuals and groups work together within christian science communities to identify resources and assist one another in support of healing. Embraced: fully supports inmates for successful reentry with the assistance of angel teams.in 2019 tpfes was established as a supporting organization to the principle foundation, the organization has an administrative services agreement with the principle foundation, which provides administrative services necessary to maintain and operate the programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $50.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 33.8%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.78; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.