Ministry Spotlight: Frontiers USA
Organization has stopped releasing 990s, releases financial statements separate from international arm of ministry
The nonprofit Frontiers USA has joined a growing list of ministries that have petitioned the IRS to be reclassified as an “association of churches.”
According to the Washington Post, “The IRS status change allows these groups, including Focus on the Family and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to avoid filing a form that makes details of their institution’s finances public.”
The “form” referenced is the Form 990—something all organizations classified as a nonprofit are required to publicly file. Churches, on the other hand, do not have to make their Form 990s public. Obtaining a status as a “church” allows organizations to keep the salaries of their highest paid employees private, as well as information on how their money is spent.
As a result of its “church” reclassification, Frontiers USA has not released its Form 990 since 2020, decreasing its MinistryWatch transparency rating from an A to a C and its donor confidence score from 95 to 62.
Frontiers works to share the gospel with unreached Muslim populations around the world. Its website states, “Our global priorities focus on the peoples and places with the least access to the Gospel. To this end, we work to recruit, train, and send teams of workers to live in Muslim communities and bring Christ’s message to those who have yet to hear it.”
The US arm of the organization is based out of Arizona, but it has over 25 international offices around the world.
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According to Frontiers USA’s 2023 financial audit, “The Frontiers International Office, located in England, provides vision, coordination, and leadership to Frontiers. The financial statements of Frontiers are not consolidated with Frontiers International…”
In addition, “Some of Frontiers’ fieldworkers are self-supporting (tent-makers) and therefore a portion of their support is not reflected in the financial statements of Frontiers.”
The organization’s annual financial audit is conducted by the firm CapinCrouse. According to its 2022-2023 Annual Report the organization had a total revenue of $41,057,924 and its total expenses were $41,188,009. The organization also has $25.9 million in net assets.
Frontiers USA did not respond to MinistryWatch’s multiple attempts to request more information about why its financial statements are separate from the international arm of the organization.
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MinistryWatch Donor Confidence Score: 62 (out of a possible 100) “Give with Confidence”
MinistryWatch Financial Efficiency Rating: 2 Stars (out of a possible 5 Stars)
MinistryWatch Transparency Grade: C
ECFA Member? Yes
Revenue in Most Recent Year Available (2021 Form 990): $39,539,966
Five-Year Revenue Trend: Increasing (by about 18.9%)
Percent of Revenue Compassion Spends on Fundraising: 10%
Percent Peer Group Spends on Fundraising: 5%
CEO/President: Bob Peckham
President’s Salary and Other Compensation: $88,975 (in 2021)
A complete MinistryWatch profile for Frontiers can be found here.
Find recent MinistryWatch articles mentioning Frontiers here.
