Ministry Spotlight: Avant Ministries
Organization does not file 990, audit not posted on website
Avant Ministries, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, no longer makes its Form 990 public. According to its Guidestar profile, the organization is now classified as a church. 
Avant has joined a growing number of ministries that have petitioned the IRS to be reclassified as a church. Under that status, they are not required by the IRS to provide a public Form 990. That means donors aren’t able to see important financial information about the organization, such as the salaries of its board members and executives.
Dan Shotts, chief financial officer for Avant, said in a statement to MinistryWatch that “as an association of churches, we are not required by the IRS to file a Form 990. So, we don’t complete a Form 990 to make available to the public. We are very willing to share our audited financial statements with anyone who inquires. I personally was not part of the decision to become ‘an association of churches,’ but the nature of that decision is based upon the ultimate ends of our organization – to make disciples of all peoples, resulting in establishment of churches around the world.”
Because it does not make its Form 990 or its audited financial statements public, Avant’s Donor Confidence Score is now a “Withhold Giving” designation of 36 with a D Transparency Grade.
According to limited financial information from its ECFA profile, Avant Ministries’ revenue was $26.9 million in 2023. Its total expenses were $25.4 million with $25.4 million in net assets.
Avant trains and sends missionaries to countries around the world. The ministry’s website states it is “an interdenominational, multinational missionary sending organization that has focused on planting and developing churches in the unreached areas of the world since the 1890s.”
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MinistryWatch Donor Confidence Score: 36 (out of a possible 100) “Withhold Giving”
MinistryWatch Financial Efficiency Rating: 1 Star (out of a possible 5 Stars)
MinistryWatch Transparency Grade: D
ECFA Member? Yes
Revenue in Most Recent Year Available (2023 ECFA Data): $26,955,942
Five-Year Revenue Trend: Increasing (by about 7%)
Percent of Revenue Avant Ministries Spends on Fundraising: 6%
Percent Peer Group Spends on Fundraising: 5%
CEO/President: Phil O’Day
President’s Salary and Other Compensation: Info unavailable
A complete MinistryWatch profile for Avant Ministries can be found here.
Find recent MinistryWatch articles mentioning Avant Ministries here.
