The Ruth Project Ministries

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851051671
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Elgin, IL, USA
Phone
3302046330
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Family Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$579,772
Expenses
$482,440
Assets
$165,458
Liabilities
$6,445

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Tamara McMahan (President & Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Tamara McMahan (President & Executive Director): $55,000 total reported compensation
  • Ashley McMahan (Secretary): $35,457 total reported compensation
  • Maureen Fox (Board member / Corporate writer): $21,136 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide foster and adoptive families with the resources, ongoing support, and knowledge they need to give long-term love and care to children in need.

What it reported doing in 2024

Storehouse operations/inventory distributed to families: foster families are gifted clothes, toys, equipment, meals, and supplies in abundance. As Children grow and seasons change, they can come back to shop for any new needs. Families receive immediate and continuous practical relief through the Ruth Project Storehouse.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.2%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 13th 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: Fail
    • 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: 16.8%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 36.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.2% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $356K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.