The Roots Network
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 822634461
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2017
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 8172233755
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $376,969
- Expenses
- $398,410
- Assets
- $223,365
- Liabilities
- $10,262
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RYAN DARR (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ADAM KOELLING (PASTOR): $118,696 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Start local churches through evangelism and outreach; strengthen the local church by equipping them through leadership and discipleship training; serve others in and through the local church by providing medical/dental care, clean water, poverty care, and education as a platform to share the gospel; support the local church in developing strategies for cross-cultural missions.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization works in rwanda, burundi, tanzania and democratic republic of the congo, africa, where it plants churches, constructs water wells, constructs church facilities, supports the local school system with a daily meal program for students, conducts leadership and discipleship training for local pastors, provides disaster relief services, and provides medical support to local residents as needed. During 2024, the organization provided leadership and discipleship training to 4,254 individuals in rwanda and burundi; began 26 new home groups; constructed 28 water wells; planted 7 churches; graduated 17 women from its sewing education program in rwanda; and fed 350 students per day in the local school system in rwanda.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 96
- Transparency & Controls: 55
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 99.6%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 94.2%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: $100.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
- 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 29.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 99.6% of revenue deployed · 94.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $375K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $119K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: 6 of 7 not reported.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.