The Rescue Mission

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
910565014
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone
2533834493
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeless Shelters

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,135,657
Expenses
$14,274,828
Assets
$40,702,017
Liabilities
$23,909,841

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN GAINES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • AUSTIN MILLER (PRESIDENT)
  • DUKE PAULSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DUKE PAULSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $198,302 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN HORGEN ((FORMER) SENIOR FINANCE DIRECTOR): $169,697 total reported compensation
  • DENISE ALTHEIMER (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ORGANIZATION): $151,850 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Sharing god's love, hope, and support with our neighbors in need to uplift communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The men's emergency shelter served 1,337 unaccompanied men experiencing homelessness. It provided 36,517 bednights, a safe place to sleep, showers, personal hygiene items, clothing, bus passes and three nutritious meals every day. Case managers worked with men in reducing their barriers to acheive permanent housing placement. The veterans room provided targeted care for veterans in partnership with the veterans administration and other local resources.the women's emergency shelter served 593 unaccompanied adult women experiencing homelessness. It provided 17,957 bednights, a safe place to sleep, showers, personal hygiene items, clothing, bus passes and three nutritious meals every day. Case managers worked with women in reducing their barriers to acheive permanent housing placement. The outreach and search and rescue program goes beyond the walls of the rescue mission and services people experienceing homelessness in pierce county. They served provided individuals with items of clothing, food, case management, referrals and transportation to services, etc.the good neighbor cafe supported the community serving an average of 22,624 meals per month to men, women, and families experiencing homelessness. The good neighbor cafe not only supports people receiving services in the shelter but also supports any person from the community that is in need of a meal due to homelessness.the new life program provided addiction recovery as well as safe shelter, food, clothing, and services to 106 individuals. This includes 55 from the men's program, 34 from the women's program and 17 who live at our sound recovery house. The new life program embraces individuals as well as families struggling with addiction. The new life program assisted several parents to be reunited with their children including regaining custody of their children.the youth program provided support to 95 children in our family shelter program. The program offers a safe place for children to continue to develop while experiencing homelessness. These services directly impact the ability of the parents to secure employment in order to exit homelessness. Children learn, socialize and continue to mature in a safe environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.4%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 21.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.85; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.4% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.