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Crown Financial Ministries

Rating
Sector:

Christian Growth

Total
Revenue:

$13,456,000

Total
Expenses:

$14,395,000

Net
Assets:

$5,625,000
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Profile Contents

Research Analysis
Financial Information

Ministry Pie Chart

Database Avg This Ministry
Program 79.7% 70.1%
General & Admin 12.6% 21.6%
Fundraising 6.8% 13.6%
Savings .4% -6.9%


Ministry Pie Chart

Ministry Pie Chart

Age Size Box:

>50
Yr(s)25-50
<25
<$1m$1m-
$5m
>$5m

Summary

Crown Financial Ministries ("Crown") teaches biblical principles of finance and money management. It also trains others to teach these principles and provides counseling and assistance to those in need. Its public image is through its radio programs which present biblical truths relating to stewardship, ethics, practical money management, and God's ability to meet financial needs (25-minute daily program, "Money Matters", 3 minute program "How to Manage Your Money", and "A Money Minute"). But it also conducts small group studies, seminars and other programs. Crown is a nonprofit organization and contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. In addition, it is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 100 601 Broad Street, SE (30501-3790)
Gainesville, GA
30503-0100
Website: www.crown.org
Phone:(800) 722-1976, (770) 534-1000
Email:You need to enable javascript to see the email

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

EIN: 581260812
CEO/President: Chuck Bentley, CEO / David Rae, President Tax Deductible: Yes
Chairman: Mr Ron Blue Fiscal Year End: March 31
Board Size: 19 Financial info from: 990
Founder: Mr. Larry Burkett and Mr. Howard Dayton Member of ECFA: Yes
Year Founded: 1976 Member of ECFA since: 1989

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Crown Financial Ministries ("Crown") teaches biblical principles of finance and money management. It also trains others to teach these principles and provides counseling and assistance to those in need. Its public image is through its radio programs which present biblical truths relating to stewardship, ethics, practical money management, and God's ability to meet financial needs (25-minute daily program, "Money Matters", 3 minute program "How to Manage Your Money", and "A Money Minute"). But it also conducts small group studies, seminars and other programs.

Crown is a nonprofit organization and contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. In addition, it is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Crown expresses its mission statement as follows:

Training people to be financially faithful in order to know Christ more intimately and to be freed to serve Him.

Crown communicates its objectives in the following way:

  • To encourage people to experience more intimate fellowship with Christ. Luke 16:11 expresses the correlation between how we handle our resources and the quality of our fellowship with the Lord: "If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?"
  • To challenge each person to invite Jesus Christ to be their Lord. Money is a primary competitor with Christ for the lordship of our lives. Matthew 6:24 reads, "No one can serve two masters . . . he will hate the one and love the other . . . You cannot serve God and mammon (money)."
  • To build close relationships among the participants.
  • To help the students put their financial house in order.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Need Program Accomoplishments info

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

Crown Ministries communicates its statement of faith as follows:

  • We believe that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God. It is without error in all its teaching.
  • We believe that there is one God, Lord of the universe, eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
  • We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His perfect, sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to heaven to the right hand of God the Father, and in His personal and visible return in power and glory.
  • We believe that all people are lost sinners and that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
  • We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
  • We believe that all people will be resurrected (those who are saved to eternal life and those who are lost to eternal damnation.)
  • We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • We believe that God, as Creator, is the ultimate Owner of all possessions on earth. God has given people the authority to be steward of those possessions and the responsibility to faithfully manage them according to the principles in the Word of God.

History [ Back to top ]

Crown Financial Ministries was formed when Crown Ministries (Howard Dayton) and Christian Financial Concepts (Larry Burkett) merge together in 2000. Larry Burkett and Howard Dayton had been acquaintances for years and friends since the early 1990's. Concurrently, God had impressed both men with the need to expand into new areas for their repspective ministries. Howard recognized that Crown Ministries was fulfilling one aspect of financial ministry by teaching one church at a time with small-group studies through out the U.S. and globally. But he had a vision to reach millions not just thousands. He realized something was not complete. On the other hand Larry had a giant growth in the outreach of Christian Financial Concepts, but the area that he wanted to reach the most was small-study groups within local churches. Larry had recognition through his radio broadcasts but again something was not right.

Both men were looking for that extra something to add to their already successful ministries when the Lord kept impressing the scripture from Esther 4:14,"Yet who know whether you have come to the kingdom for such as time as this?"(NKJV) in both Larry's and Howard's mind to seek a better way.

After a radio interview, Larry felt the leading of the Lord to ask Howard about merging the two organizations together. After many personal talks between the men, it moved to a more serious discussion with the boards of directors of both of the ministries. There were many studies, discussions and lots of prayers before the boards agreed wholeheartedly to join hands.

Both Larry and Howard served as co-CEOs until May of 2001 and then Howard assumed the role of CEO. The two boards merged into one; two ministries creating a partnership that has a far greater outreach to the churches in the United States and worldwide.

Following a long and courageous battle with cancer and heart disease, Larry Burkett completed his journey of serving the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth. Having battled cancer and heart attacks for the past several years, God called Larry into His presence at 3pm on July 4, 2003. The ministry of Crown continues on with fondest memories of Larry and with profound thanks to the Lord for His work through Larry for so many years.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

Crown Financial Ministry express its needs as follows:

Prayers

As a nonprofit ministry,Crown Financial is sustained through the prayerful support of God’s people.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

Transparency Grade of : A
Criteria categoryGradeOther Comments
Timeliness:10010/21/2011 6:32:00 PM: Organization made financial information available less than 5 ½ months after their fiscal year end.
Financial Information:10010/21/2011 6:32:10 PM: Organization provided all financial information requested. Information was clear and thorough.
Foundational Clarity:10010/21/2011 6:32:18 PM: Descriptive information was abundant and thorough.
Level of Cooperation:10010/21/2011 6:32:29 PM: Answers to questions were thorough.
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Click here to learn more about how ministries are graded

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking CategoryRatingOverall RankChristian Growth Sector
Overall Efficiency RatingStarStar303 of 347    28 of 37
Fund Acquisition DecisionStarStar310 of 347      33 of 37
Resource Allocation DecisionStar320 of 347      29 of 37
Asset Utilization DecisionStarStarStar157 of 347      10 of 37
Learn how the ratings are calculated for this ministry
Learn how ratings are calculated in general -- or here for a longer explanation
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Shining Light [ Back to top ]

2011 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
2010 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
2009 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
2008 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
2007 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
2006 MinistryWatch.com Shining Light top ministry list
Crown Financial Ministries a Shining Light for Creating Faithful and Generous Christians

Analyst Comments [ Back to top ]

Crown Financial Ministries listed by MinistryWatch.com as a 2011 Shining Light ‘Top 30’ Exemplary Ministry.

This ministry is called a ‘Shining Light’ because it is indeed a model of letting their light shine before men, and God is to be glorified in what they are doing. Consequently, we are shining a figurative light on them so that donors may be aware of their good deeds.

Believers are recognizable by their fruit, which includes the services they perform for Him and for others. We see a glimpse of His light and glory in this ministry and if you do too, you should feel very good about giving to it; however, only you can decide for yourself with confidence if a ministry shares your values and with your giving plan.

Inclusion as a Shining Light does not mean it is perfect. No ministry is perfect and any that look long and hard enough may find areas for improvement; as no doubt most legitimate ministries are aware of areas to improve and have their own to-do list for improvement. As far as MinistryWatch.com’s assessment, given the criteria that we followed, this ministry rose among the top.

Identifying a diversity of the best ministries is challenging given the selfless work that so many do for the cause of Christ. MinistryWatch.com’s assessment looked at the following seven areas when considering those to make the list: (1) Transparency, (2) Truth Claims, (3) Values/ Worldview, (4) Sectors/Functions, (5) Resourcefulness, (6) Red Flag Issues, (7) Counsel with others.

A fuller explanation of our evaluation criteria is on the front page of MinistryWatch.com. As is evident, we looked at many factors and as such, a high Financial Efficiency Rating was not a requirement of inclusion on this list, although most do have good ratings. Many factors were reviewed and strengths in other areas can offset weakness in financial efficiency when determining whether a ministry should be of interest to donors seeking to be good stewards of their giving. A foundational premise was to shine a figurative light on those ministries that were "Christian" more than in name only. Ministries were chosen that were not just marketing to Christians as a market segment for "Christian donor money", but ministries that had theological underpinnings and Biblical values that determined their actions. Organizations that relied more on a secular motivation and means were excluded as well as those “ministries” that seem to view the organization as their own vehicle as a business to make money rather than a love to maximize ministry to others and to let their light shine for the glory of God.

MinistryWatch.com desires to see overall giving to Biblical Christian values increase and as such we developed this format to highlight those ministries which are exemplary. This ministry is an outstanding example when we consider it through the lens of Philippians 4:8 and weigh and take account of those ministries that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Ministry Statement or Response [ Back to top ]

Financial Information:

Financial Ratios[ Back to top ]

Funding RatiosDatabase Average20102009200820072006
Return on FR Efforts10%18%12%12%10%10%
Fundraising Cost Ratio7%14%10%9%8%7%
Contributions Reliance83%75%79%79%76%74%
Fundraising Expense Ratio7%13%9%10%8%8%
Other Revenue Reliance17%25%21%21%24%26%
Operating RatiosDatabase Average20102009200820072006
Program Expense Ratio80%66%67%71%73%72%
Spending Ratio100%107%107%96%92%97%
Program Output Ratio80%70%72%68%67%70%
Savings Ratio0%-7%-7%4%8%3%
Reserve Accumulation Rate11%-17%-17%10%23%10%
General & Admin Ratio13%22%24%19%19%20%
Investing RatiosDatabase Average20102009200820072006
Total Asset Turnover2.8x1.72x1.96x1.83x1.97x2.33x
Degree of L-T Investment2.85x1.61x1.81x1.57x1.65x1.94x
Current Asset Turnover5.26x2.77x3.56x2.88x3.25x4.52x
Age of Assets9.7yr(s)4.2yr(s)5.1yr(s)8.4yr(s)7yr(s)10.4yr(s)
Liquidity RatiosDatabase Average20102009200820072006
Current Ratio2964.81x4.86x4.26x4.68x4.43x3.95x
Current Liabilities Ratio.31x.21x.23x.21x.23x.25x
Liquid Reserve Level4.96x3.45x2.58x3.28x2.86x1.98x
Solvency RatiosDatabase Average20102009200820072006
Liabilities Ratio.23x.33x.28x.28x.28x.31x
Debt Ratio.06x.06x.01x.01x0x0x
Reserve Coverage Ratio80%39%37%39%37%30%

Financials[ Back to top ]

Balance Sheet
Assets20102009200820072006
Cash$4,271,000$4,059,000$5,592,000$4,886,000$3,140,000
Receivables, Inventories & Prepaids$933,000$956,000$1,161,000$943,000$865,000
Short-Term Investments$0$0$0$0$0
Total Current Assets$5,205,000$5,016,000$6,754,000$5,830,000$4,005,000
Long-Term Investments$0$0$1,018,000$1,010,000$801,000
Fixed Assets$1,635,000$1,679,000$1,663,000$1,470,000$1,620,000
Other Long-Term Assets$1,531,000$2,408,000$1,188,000$1,309,000$1,323,000
Total Long-Term Assets$3,167,000$4,088,000$3,870,000$3,789,000$3,746,000
TOTAL ASSETS$8,372,000$9,104,000$10,624,000$9,619,000$7,752,000
Liabilities20102009200820072006
Payables & Accrued Expenses$1,025,000$1,106,000$1,389,000$1,300,000$1,013,000
Other Current Liabilities$45,000$71,000$52,000$13,000$0
Total Current Liabilities$1,071,000$1,178,000$1,442,000$1,314,000$1,013,000
Debt$475,000$55,000$110,000$0$0
Other Long-Term Liabilities$1,199,000$1,305,000$1,402,000$1,370,000$1,393,000
Total Long-Term Liabilities$1,675,000$1,360,000$1,512,000$1,370,000$1,393,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES$2,747,000$2,538,000$2,954,000$2,685,000$2,406,000
Assets20102009200820072006
Unrestricted$3,143,000$4,931,000$5,149,000$4,730,000$2,866,000
Temporarily Restricted$2,481,000$1,633,000$2,519,000$2,203,000$2,478,000
Permanently Restricted$0$0$0$0$0
NET ASSETS$5,625,000$6,565,000$7,669,000$6,934,000$5,345,000
Revenue and Expenses
Revenue20102009200820072006
Total Contributions$10,138,000$13,161,000$15,951,000$15,567,000$13,752,000
Program Service Revenue$359,000$543,000$1,124,000$1,260,000$857,000
Membership Dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment Income$1,060,000$101,000$191,000$171,000$115,000
Other Revenue$1,897,000$2,931,000$2,898,000$3,534,000$3,888,000
Total Other Revenue$3,317,000$3,576,000$4,214,000$4,966,000$4,861,000
TOTAL REVENUE$13,456,000$16,737,000$20,165,000$20,533,000$18,613,000
Expenses20102009200820072006
Program Services$9,433,000$11,996,000$13,786,000$13,806,000$13,013,000
Management & General$3,121,000$4,247,000$3,764,000$3,558,000$3,693,000
Fundraising$1,840,000$1,598,000$1,879,000$1,580,000$1,389,000
TOTAL EXPENSES$14,395,000$17,842,000$19,430,000$18,944,000$18,096,000
Change in Net Assets20102009200820072006
SURPLUS (DEFICIT)($939,000)($1,104,000)$735,000$1,589,000$517,000
Other Changes in Net Assets$0$0$0$0$0
TOTAL CHANGE IN NET ASSETS($939,000)($1,104,000)$735,000$1,589,000$517,000