TRAILS Ministries

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251744197
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Beaver Falls, PA, USA
Phone
(724) 891-7541
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,447,787
Expenses
$1,033,387
Assets
$797,137
Liabilities
$301,657

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Susan Smith (Vice President)
  • Fred Hamilton (President)

People named in this filing

  • Darrell Spenser (Board Member)
  • Dana Revay (Board Member)
  • Rebecca Salopek (Board Member)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

TRAILS Ministries is a holistic, faith-based approach to assisting those impacted by the incarceration system. The TRAILS reentry project is a holistic, faith-based approach to assisting those impacted directly or indirectly by the trauma of incarceration. This process begins during an individual's incarceration, for both themselves and their families, and continues through the redeeming processes of restoration and reunification. Our Partners. This is a joint venture between TRAILS Ministries, The Reclaim Project and Rebuild with Sustainable Mission Partners, uniting to help returning citizens and justice involved individuals find meaningful employment through deconstruction and construction-type vocational training and jobs. Read More ABOUT US >.

What it reported doing in 2023

To provide services to incarcerated individuals and their families

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.4%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.6%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 71.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.