Vitalchurch Ministry Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822510792
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
San Clemente, CA, USA
Phone
2038955991
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,323,977
Expenses
$1,304,656
Assets
$307,230
Liabilities
$11,910

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GARY ABBOTT (Pres / Exec Dir): $83,800 total reported compensation
  • LAUREL SCHUMACHER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $13,005 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to revitalize churches in crisis or transition and see them reconciled and restored to unity, with gifted leadership in place, gospel values embedded, effective governance, and an exciting mission agreed on.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization offers a proven, biblically-based, three-phase process of church revitalization for churches who find themselves in a season of transition or crisis. The nature of the transition or crisis varies from church to church, and it takes painstaking and careful work to uncover the complex underlying issues. In every case, the organization works to help congregations and leaders return to a place where god and his purposes are central to the life and ministry of the church. Throughout the entire process, our pastors work alongside the church to discern what the holy spirit is saying, and to bring about transformation together. The three phases of the process are diagnostic analysis, intentional interim pastorate, and follow-up coaching.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 77% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.