Through the Word Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452540720
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Huntington Beach, CA, USA
Phone
4014001017
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,799,601
Expenses
$2,169,707
Assets
$3,048,760
Liabilities
$8,290

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRISTOFER LANGHAM (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRISTOFER LANGHAM (President): $366,279 total reported compensation
  • RYAN MCCARTER (Treasurer): $332,021 total reported compensation
  • ZACHARY WENNER (ENGINEER): $240,899 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Through the word is dedicated to equip people around the world to read the bible, understand it, apply it, and make it a habit. We provide simple yet powerful tools via the web and mobile apps that lead users on a journey to understand the entire bible, one chapter at a time.

What it reported doing in 2023

Through the word app & website: our online tools led users through a simple daily bible experience about 54 million times. Ttw's innovative mobile app is cost and commercial free, equipping users to read or hear the bible along with a concise audio guide for each chapter. Daily use grew approximately 31% in 2023, and annual bible engagement was approximately 650 million minutes.in 2023, we invested in software improvements, features, teaching enhancements, content and listener support, capacity improvements, ministry growth and the addition of web and mobile user experience improvements. We also designed and launched the ttw together feature, which enables app users to follow plans together and share audio messages with friends directly on the ttw app.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 14
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.8%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 22.5%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.41; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 72.5%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 41% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 41.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 50.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.8% of revenue deployed · 67.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $366K · 7 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2018 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.