The Urban Alternative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
751835253
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, US
Phone
1.800.800.3222
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religious Media, Communications
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,763,243
Expenses
$15,766,963
Assets
$44,176,477
Liabilities
$2,014,651

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr Anthony T Evans (President)
  • Mr William E Collins (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Anthony T Evans (President): $321,953 total reported compensation
  • Mrs Joy Glover (Director of Ministry Services): $145,098 total reported compensation
  • Mrs Heather Hair (Director of Marketing): $142,948 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Urban Alternative is a Christian Bible teaching and resource ministry founded over 40 years ago by Dr. Tony Evans, aiming to spread the teaching of God’s Word through Christian media with the goal of transforming lives. Through his local church and national ministry, Dr. Evans promotes a kingdom agenda philosophy that teaches God’s comprehensive rule over every sphere of life as demonstrated through the individual, family, church and society. This philosophy connects biblical spirituality with social responsibility. Dr. Evans teaches that the church, not the government, is the best social service delivery system since it is closer to the needs of the people, offers the largest potential volunteer force, has facilities for outreach programs, and provides a moral and spiritual frame of reference for making right choices. At the heart of this vision is the use of church and school...

What it reported doing in 2024

Local Communities Reach: The Urban Alternative impacts local communities through the strategic training and equipping of pastors, pastors' wives and lay leaders in churches and non-profit organizations. We do this through Kingdom Agenda Pastors, Pastors' Wives Ministry, the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative, and the Tony Evans Training Center. The Kingdom Agenda Pastors (KAP) provides a viable network for like-minded pastors who embrace the Kingdom Agenda philosophy. Pastors have the opportunity to go deeper with Dr. Tony Evans as they are given greater biblical knowledge, practical applications, and resources to impact individuals, families, churches, and communities. Pastors' Wives Ministry (PWM) provides counsel, encouragement, and spiritual resources for pastors' wives as they serve with their husbands in the ministry. A primary focus of the ministry is the KAP Summit that offers senior pastors' wives a safe place to reflect, renew, and relax along with training in personal development, spiritual growth, and care for their emotional and physical well-being. National Church Adopt-A-School Initiative (NCAASI) prepares churches across the country to impact communities by using public schools as the primary vehicle for affecting positive social change in urban youth and families. Leaders of churches, school districts, faith-based organizations, and other nonprofit organizations are equipped with the knowledge and tools to forge partnerships and build strong social service delivery systems. NCAASI training conferences have been conducted for thousands of pastors and church leaders. In addition, we have created online training that provides greater access to facilitate the growth and expansion of this ministry. The Tony Evans Training Center (TETC), launched in August 2017, provides educational programming. It is based on the ministry philosophy of Dr. Tony Evans as expressed through the Kingdom Agenda's five core subjects: Theology, Individual, Family, Church, and Society. Completing these courses will both equip and prepare students to serve through the church or non-profit setting in a spirit of excellence and accuracy. The Director of Course Development is leading the development of 10 to 12 new courses per year. The number of new students has grown to over 600. Through these ministries, more than 10,000 church leaders and more than 18,000 community impact leaders have been trained in the last five years.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 25th 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: 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: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 9th 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: 11.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.8; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 69.7% of revenue deployed · 74.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $11.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $322K · 11 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $836K reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 57/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.