Sources
- IRS Form 990 data via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (API v2).
- ECFA accredited-member profiles and charter-member list.
- Ministries’ own websites, annual reports and audited financial summaries.
- Candid (GuideStar) public profiles for filing status.
- MinistryWatch: linked only. We do not reproduce its ratings or text; see each ministry’s MinistryWatch page for its third-party assessment.
Rules
- Every fact stores a source URL and retrieval date (this edition: 2026-10-12) and links to it. An automated test fails the build if any claim lacks either.
- If a fact can’t be verified in a public source, it is shown as “Not reported”. We never estimate or guess.
- Derived figures (revenue growth, net assets ÷ monthly expenses) are computed only when all inputs are reported, and are labeled as derived.
- No adjectives about any ministry’s integrity.
Self-reported gospel outcomes
- Outcome figures (gospel presentations/exposures, professions of faith/decisions, discipleship participants, groups and mentors) come only from each ministry’s own annual report, impact report or website.
- Every figure is labeled self-reported and records the exact figure, the period, the ministry’s own metric name, any definition it gives, the source URL and retrieval date.
- We keep each ministry’s definitions in its own words and do not normalize, convert or add figures across ministries. A “decision” at one ministry may be counted differently from a “faith decision” or “positive response” at another.
- Where a report gives only a chart or a percentage, we do not estimate a count. Third-party summaries (news, aggregators) are not used for outcome figures.
- Figures are not independently verified or audited by IGI.
No-negative-scores policy
We don’t produce ratings, grades or rankings of worthiness. We show strengths that are positively documented (e.g. files a public Form 990, ECFA accreditation, audited financials posted, published reach figures), and “Not reported” elsewhere. “Funding capacity” figures describe scale and reserves; they are not a judgment.
Limitations
- Several ministries are not required to file a Form 990 (church or association-of-churches status), so their financials aren’t comparable here.
- Form 990 data lags 1–3 years. Figures from different fiscal years and sources (990 vs. audited summary) are not strictly comparable.
- Net assets include non-cash assets (buildings, endowment), so “months” is a rough capacity signal, not liquidity.
- Outcome figures are self-reported, use different definitions and periods, and are not comparable across ministries.
- Seed set of 10 ministries; some ministries publish no outcome figures in sources we could find.
Corrections
Ministries can request a correction by contacting IGI with a public source; we update the record and its retrieval date.