The Signatry

Legal name: The Signatry Charitable Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825070897
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone
9133100279
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,038,691,653
Expenses
$577,321,357
Assets
$816,185,056
Liabilities
$714,172

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Stephen A French (President)
  • Erik J SCHARTNER (Former Vice President , Former Secretary)
  • Lawrence Scott (Former Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Stephen A French (President): $401,903 total reported compensation
  • Mark W Klinger (Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer): $273,560 total reported compensation
  • Jason P Yakelis (Chief Operating Officer (beginning 12/12/24)): $269,661 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To build the kingdom of God by inspiring world-changing generosity.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Trust facilitates generosity through donor advised funds and other charitable tools to support qualified § 501(c)(3) organizations in pursuit of solving the world's greatest problems, notably in the areas of community development, creation care, Christian discipleship, education & professional development, family services, health & human services, humanitarian aid & relief, justice & advocacy, Christian outreach, and philanthropy & culture. 1732 Organizations received support from the Trust during the tax year 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 99%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 99; 41st 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 44.4%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.41; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 61.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 53.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 46.2% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 56% of revenue deployed · 99% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 1 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $571.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $402K · 7 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $954K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1766 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1777 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.