True Freedom Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464701022
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
4404883486
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Inmate Support
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$978,480
Expenses
$994,494
Assets
$1,226,114
Liabilities
$47,940

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Swiger (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Swiger (President): $72,587 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

True Freedom Ministries is an evangelical, non-profit organization dedicated to reaching people locked in jails and prisons, the homeless, and those trapped in addiction across Ohio with the message of the true freedom found only in Jesus Christ.

What it reported doing in 2024

True Freedom Ministries, in partnership with correctional facilities and private organizations, applies a multi-faceted approach to Prison Ministry incorporating evangelism, discipleship and mentorship with pre-release education and post-release programming. This approach creates a climate based upon faith, positive values and accountability, and provides the tools to equip prisoners and ex-offenders with behavioral skills, job training and experience. The True Freedom Addiction Recovery Ministry holds weekly meetings at our office in Cleveland. Our program utilizes the Christ-centered curriculums and allows us to establish relationships with people struggling to break their addictive behaviors. This program also serves as the centerpiece of our Prison Ministry Re-Entry Program as we recognize a majority of former prisoners and ex-offenders have struggled or continue to struggle with addiction.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: -1.6%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $763K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.