Touching Lives with James Merritt

Legal name: Touching Lives Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582181292
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Duluth, GA, United States
Phone
800-413-1131
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,673,617
Expenses
$2,858,875
Assets
$1,171,870
Liabilities
$59,458

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR JAMES MERRITT (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • DR JAMES MERRITT (CEO)
  • CHRIS FRUITTICHER (TREASURER & CFO)
  • ROGER GREEN (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Touching Lives exists to touch the lives of the lost and enrich the faith of the found. The Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We believe this Statement of Faith to be an accurate summary of what Scripture teaches us. Our Financial Health Touching Lives is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization organized in September of 1995. This ministry is part of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and is managed by a seasoned board of directors and leadership team. Learn more. Evangelism Training Copyright © 2026 Touching Lives, Inc. | PO Box 101, Sterling, KS 67579-0101 | United States | 800-413-1131 Touching Lives is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

What it reported doing in 2024

Touching lives exists to touch the lives of the lost and enrich the faith of the found by producing and distributing biblical teaching. Material includes daily devotions, television programs, podcast, sermon notes, books, live events and monthly teaching letters. All of this material is based on the bible and designed to help people see the reality of the resurrection of jesus and understand the positive impact that jesus can have on their life.

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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.6%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 99.6% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $706K reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.