Transforming Center

Legal name: The Transforming Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320041715
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Wheaton, IL, United States
Phone
630-588-8133
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,674,203
Expenses
$1,568,576
Assets
$735,913
Liabilities
$288,064

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RUTH HALEY BARTON (CEO/PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RUTH HALEY BARTON (CEO/PRESIDENT): $139,858 total reported compensation
  • COLE GRIFFIN (SECRETARY): $136,445 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We are committed to create space for God to strengthen leaders and transform communities. We exist to serve leaders of purposeful communities—churches, non-profits, and businesses—who long for new rhythms that allow them to flourish in their life and leadership. Over time, many Christian leaders experience a disconnect between their outer life and their inner life—the presence of God deep within; we walk with pastors and leaders to help them distinguish God’s voice beyond the noise so they can lead from that place.

What it reported doing in 2024

Transforming communities - 2 years of quarterly, 3-day retreats for christian leaders to participate in. Currently have 2 communities of approx. 100 people participating. We did not have any standalone retreats. Transforming resources - self-published materials and other published materials used for spiritual growth or as curriculum in the programs. Strengthen the soul of your leadership podcast - self produced podcast to provide teaching and resources for christian leaders - thousands impacted. 2023 film project - creating and recording our transforming community experience (separate from the transforming communities currently running)to capture the teaching as a part of our succession plan and additional ways to offer our program. It was completed approx july 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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 most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.3%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.6%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 66.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.