Prepared for Tommy Hays · Executive Director
Your Board Finance Public‑Signal Snapshot.
We reviewed Messiah Ministries' FY 2024 public Form 990 and identified five questions worth comparing with your current internal reporting.
The cash and LUNA months are historical calculations using FY 2024 expenses. LUNA is an estimate, not a reported 990 figure. These are not a minimum, a rating, or a conclusion about the ministry's current liquidity.
The public signals
Five public signals worth confirming.
Each base figure comes from your FY 2024 Form 990, the year ended December 31, 2024, with the line noted so you can check it. The FY 2024 return is the latest public filing currently available; a calendar-year organization's FY 2025 Form 990 was originally due May 15, 2026, although it may be on a properly filed six-month extension. The current FY 2025 internal position is not visible from public records. Months of coverage and LUNA are calculations from those figures, not separate 990 lines.
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01
Liquidity and property mix
Public signal to confirmAt year-end, reported cash was $70,853 (Part X, line 1), about 3.1 months of FY 2024 expenses. Most reported net assets were held in property: of $471,855 in net assets, $411,048 sits in a building (line 10c). An illustrative LUNA estimate — net assets without donor restrictions, less net property and equipment — was about $60,807, or 2.6 months. Fewer than three months of liquidity can be tight for many nonprofits, but the appropriate level depends on revenue timing, obligations, facilities, risks, and board policy. Three months is used here only as an illustrative planning benchmark, not a universal requirement. Current cash reporting, facility costs, and reserve policy are useful areas to confirm.
Where these sit among similar-size nonprofits
LowerPeer medianHigherThe gold marker is this organization: among about 8,800 religion-related nonprofits with $100k–$500k in annual expenses that filed a full 2022 Form 990, months of cash sit near the peer median and LUNA in the upper third (NCCS / IRS public data). Context across organizations from historical filings — not a rating, a score, or a conclusion about current reserves.
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02
Operating result and repeatability
Positive public signalRevenue was $610,687 and expenses were $277,769, a $332,918 surplus (Part I). Revenue increased from $321,111 the year before, about 90.2%. The public return does not show how much of that increase was recurring, campaign-related, restricted, or expected to repeat. Monthly revenue and budget reporting would provide that context.
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03
New property and facility stewardship
Public signal to confirmDuring FY 2024, net property and equipment increased from $20,540 to $411,048, on a cost of $425,361 (Part X, line 10), with no mortgage or secured loan reported (line 23). The filing shows a major shift toward fixed assets, but it does not establish the exact funding mix or whether the revenue increase was tied to a capital campaign. The acquisition creates ongoing questions around insurance, maintenance, depreciation, utilities, future repairs, and board-designated facility reserves.
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04
Contribution-funded revenue model
Public signal to confirmContributions and grants were $610,232, approximately 99.9% of total revenue, with no program-service revenue reported (Part VIII). Schedule A shows gifts rising from $116,509 in 2020 to $609,912 in 2024. This shows reliance on contributed income, but it does not reveal donor concentration, recurring-gift retention, campaign timing, or how much of FY 2024 growth was one-time. Those points require current internal donor and monthly revenue reporting.
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05
Oversight and year-end readiness
Public signal to confirmThe Form 990 reports no independent compilation, review, or audit of the financial statements (Part XII, lines 2a and 2b are both No). Following a major property acquisition, leadership and the board may wish to consider whether an independent compilation, review, or other outside support would add useful assurance; the appropriate level depends on lender, donor, grant, board, and state requirements. Part VII lists Tommy Hays as Executive Director and also identifies directors, but no officer is shown with a treasurer, CFO, or finance title. Public records do not show who performs financial oversight internally.
The bottom line
Strong growth, a major property move, and questions to confirm.
The public filing shows substantial revenue growth, a large annual surplus, a major move into property, no reported secured property debt, and a revenue model funded almost entirely by contributions. It also shows that most reported net assets were held in property rather than liquid assets, no independent financial-statement compilation, review, or audit was reported, and public records do not identify an officer with a treasurer or finance title.
None of these points proves that anything is wrong. The current position may already be well managed. A short review would compare the historical public filing with the ministry's current cash reporting, giving patterns, property obligations, board oversight, and year-end process — and confirm whether any of it still needs attention.
Compare with your current reporting
See where you stand, then confirm what's current.
On a 20-minute call, Arif compares the public filing with your current reporting, confirms whether these signals are still relevant, and flags whether clearer monthly reporting, reserve planning, or a deeper review would help. If your process already answers them, no further work is needed — no cost, and the figures are yours to keep.
Arif leads the review; any accounting or tax work is a separate Summiton Financial engagement. Please don't send tax returns, bank details, or other sensitive documents before the call.