For more than 25 years, MinistryWatch has pursued a simple but important mission: helping donors make informed decisions about the ministries they support. At the heart of that effort is the MinistryWatch Database, a comprehensive resource that evaluates many of the largest Christian ministries in the United States and provides donors with objective information about their financial practices, transparency, and governance.
The MinistryWatch Database is more than a directory of ministries. It is a tool designed to answer a fundamental question: How can donors know whether a ministry is stewarding its resources wisely and operating with integrity?
Why MinistryWatch rates ministries
MinistryWatch recognizes that evaluating Christian ministries is difficult. Ministries are not businesses whose success can be measured simply by profit and loss. Nor can spiritual impact always be quantified. Nevertheless, donors deserve meaningful information before entrusting organizations with their charitable gifts.
Further, we are not arrogant enough to not claim to have all the answers about what makes a ministry excellent. However, with decades of experience and after looking at thousands of ministries, we have been able to identify and measure some of the most important questions donors should ask before giving.
The MinistryWatch ratings system exists because donors need independent, objective information to help them make faithful giving decisions. Ministries often communicate their accomplishments, but donors also need insight into financial stewardship, transparency practices, governance structures, and accountability mechanisms.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
By collecting and publishing this information in a standardized format, MinistryWatch allows donors to compare ministries using consistent criteria and make giving decisions based on facts rather than marketing claims.
The MinistryWatch 1000 Database currently contains profiles for about 1,600 ministries — and it is growing by the week. We hope to have 2,000 ministries in the database by the end of the year. Each profile includes financial information, executive compensation data, ratings, and other information intended to help donors evaluate an organization.
The Financial Efficiency Rating
One of the cornerstone metrics in the MinistryWatch database is the Financial Efficiency Rating, which assigns ministries a rating from one to five stars. Our model for the Financial Efficiency Rating is the Morningstar rating of mutual funds. When Morningstar started rating mutual funds in the mid-1980s, confidence in that asset class grew, and the amount of money that went into mutual funds increased dramatically over the next 10 years.
The Financial Efficiency Rating tells the donor where the money goes. How much goes to fundraising, management costs, and asset accumulation — such as endowments, cash reserves, or real estate.
In our rating system, five stars represent the highest level of financial efficiency. Ministries that earn five stars are in the top 20% of their peers. For fairness, we compare ministries only to those in their peer group.
MinistryWatch publishes five years of financial data for ministries in its database and calculates a variety of ratios that help donors understand how funds are being used. This practice allows donors to see not only the current rating of a ministry, but what has changed in that ministry in its recent past.
A ministry does not need to be large to earn a strong Financial Efficiency Rating. Likewise, a large ministry does not automatically receive a favorable score. The rating measures stewardship rather than size or popularity.
The Transparency Grade
In addition to financial efficiency, MinistryWatch believes transparency is a critical indicator of organizational health. For that reason, every ministry in the database receives a Transparency Grade.
The Transparency Grade is based on three straightforward questions:
- Does the ministry obtain an annual audit and make that audit available on its website?
- Does the ministry file a Form 990 with the IRS?
- Is the ministry a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)?
A ministry that can answer “yes” to all three questions receives an A grade. Currently, 371 of the 1,591 ministries in our database have an A Transparency Grade.
Organizations that satisfy two of the three criteria receive a C grade. Currently, 599 ministries have a C Transparency Grade. MinistryWatch is one of those organizations that receive a C Transparency Grade. We are not members of the ECFA. We believe we meet the criteria for membership, but the ECFA has repeatedly refused to allow us to fill out an application form. We plan to appeal that decision.
Those organizations meeting only one criterion receive a D grade. These ministries number 572. Only 49 ministries receive an F Transparency Grade.
This grading system reflects MinistryWatch’s conviction that transparency should not be complicated. Donors should be able to access financial information and verify that independent oversight exists. Public audits, Form 990 disclosure, and ECFA membership each provide evidence that a ministry is willing to operate in the light rather than behind closed doors.
The Donor Confidence Score
The newest and most comprehensive metric in the MinistryWatch database is the Donor Confidence Score (DCS).
While the Financial Efficiency Rating focuses on financial stewardship and the Transparency Grade focuses on disclosure practices, the Donor Confidence Score attempts to provide a broader assessment of organizational health.
MinistryWatch developed a series of questions that donors should ask before supporting a ministry. These questions address governance, financial accountability, transparency, leadership compensation, board independence, legal controversies, doctrinal commitments, and other indicators of organizational integrity. Ministries are evaluated and assigned a score ranging from 0 to 100.
Current Donor Confidence Scores are based on 14 major questions. Among factors considered are:
- Whether the organization files a Form 990.
- Whether audited financial statements are publicly available.
- Whether the organization belongs to the ECFA.
- Whether the board contains independent members.
- Whether leadership compensation falls within expected ranges.
- Whether the organization has faced significant lawsuits or administrative actions.
- Whether the board chair is independent.
- Whether the organization has avoided the use of non-disclosure agreements.
- Whether the ministry has achieved at least a three-star Financial Efficiency Rating.
MinistryWatch categorizes ministries based on their Donor Confidence Scores. Organizations scoring 65 or higher are ministries to which donors can “Give With Confidence.” More than 1,000 ministries in our database are in this category.
Ministries scoring between 50 and 64 fall into an “Exercise Caution” category. About 300 ministries fall into this category.
Ministries scoring below 50 receive a “Withhold Giving” recommendation. About 250 ministries — the bottom 15% — fall into this category. We sometimes hear from donors and ministry leaders who complain that their favorite ministry has a “Withhold Giving” rating. They want to know why. My answer always begins with this: “It’s not magic or malice. It’s math.” The numbers determine the score, and the ministry’s behavior determines the numbers. To earn a “Withhold Giving” designation from MinistryWatch, means that the organization is truly an outlier in our database, and donors should beware.
I should also mention that we have a lot of ministry leaders who have done just that — changed their behavior. They will post their audits on their website to pick up a few points in our system. They will post their statement of faith on their website. We are always pleased when a desire to improve a score results in positive change in an organization. When an organization makes such a change, we also change our rating immediately.
A tool for better stewardship
The MinistryWatch 1000 Database represents a unique form of data-driven journalism. Rather than relying solely on news reports or ministry self-descriptions, the database provides donors with measurable information about some of America’s largest Christian ministries. In fact, the nearly 1,600 ministries in our database represent more than $56 billion in annual revenue. If we can re-deploy only 2% of those dollars from poorly rated ministries to highly rated ministries, that 2% represents more than a billion dollars a year going to more effective, faithful ministries.
In the year ahead, we hope to make several small but important changes to our database. First, we want to continue to grow. We hope to have 2,000 ministries in the database by year-end. Secondly, we are about to unveil a way for you to have your own, personal portfolio of ministries. While the MinistryWatch website has always been free, and it will continue to be free, we will begin a log-in system that will allow you to identify just the ministries you want to follow. And when those ministries get new financial information, you will receive an email telling you what has changed. Look for the roll-out of this new product within the next few weeks.
No rating system can perfectly measure ministry effectiveness or spiritual impact. However, MinistryWatch believes that informed donors make better stewards. By providing reliable information and objective analysis, the MinistryWatch 1000 Database helps Christians give generously while also giving wisely.