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Non-profit

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)

Website:

www.ecfa.org/
Location:

Winchester, VA
Tax ID:

93-0744698
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $4,790,236
Expenses: $4,108,684
Assets: $4,988,846
Type:

Christian Organization
Founded:

1979
President:

Michael Martin

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The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) accredits evangelical Christian organizations that meet its standards of financial transparency. Michael Martin leads the organization. 1

Background

In the 1970s, a series of scandals rocked churches and religious media. Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR) warned church leaders that if they failed to police themselves, the government would step in with regulation. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the United States branch of World Vision founded the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability in 1979. Its mandate was to accredit Christian organizations practicing transparent standards of financial disclosure. 2 3

In 2011, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) requested that ECFA set up a Commission to discover remedies for growing financial fraud. The Commission produced two reports, one dealing with financial issues and the other with religious speech. 4

Trinity Foundation, a Christian investigative journalism site, 5 and the left-of-center Huffington Post alleged that “The commission obtained ‘expert testimony’ from televangelists’ attorneys without including the testimony of the televangelists’ critics. A one-sided consensus emerged for no new oversight.” 6 The report triggered no follow-up subpoenas. 7

Under the leadership of Dan Busby, ECFA’s former president, membership grew to 2,400 organizations. 8

Activities

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability accredits evangelical Christian nonprofits that comply with its Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship. The standards include commitment to the evangelical Christian faith, accountable board governance, provision and public disclosure of audited financial statements, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and transparent fundraising practices. Accredited organizations include churches, educational institutions, rescue missions, camps, and denominations. 9

Qualified organizations receive the ECFA Seal of Approval and must reapply annually. ECFA may undertake a compliance review which in some cases results in termination of membership. 10

Members pay a fee based on their annual budget and receive access to educational resources. 11

Controversies

The Roys Report, a Christian investigative journalism site, has accused Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability of overlooking financial mismanagement in its membership organizations. 12

Roys Report cited the Harvest Bible Chapel, a megachurch that paid its executive director $1 million a year and issued him an “executive checkbook” that he allegedly used to fund African safaris and a vacation in Europe; 13 National Religious Broadcasters, which continued as a member for more than a decade as it slowly went bankrupt; 14 and Gospel for Asia, which settled a class-action lawsuit agreeing to give donors a $37 million refund. 15

The evangelical Christian magazine Christianity Today alleged that ECFA is incentivized to ignore wrongdoing since the bulk of its funding is derived from membership fees, with the largest organizations paying the most in fees. 16

ECFA counters that it is not a fraud examiner but a membership organization. Michael Martin, ECFA’s president, describes ECFA’s philosophy as “a redemptive approach. We’re trying to build organizations up rather than tearing them down.” 17

A former ECFA president, Dan Busby, was fined $9,000 by the Virginia Board of Accountancy for unlicensed use of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) title. His unlicensed use continued for 15 years. 18

ECFA issued a statement defending Busby that stated, “While Dan’s use of the CPA designation complies with the laws of Kansas—where he was originally and still is certified—he had no idea that his designation could possibly not be in compliance with Virginia law.” 19

People

Michael Martin is an attorney and CPA and is president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Oral Roberts University and a law degree from Regent University. 20 He is the co-author with Dan Busby of three books. 21

References

  1. “About.” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://www.ecfa.org/
  2. “About.” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://www.ecfa.org/
  3. Hadden, Jeffrey K., and Charles E. Swann. Prime time preachers: The rising power of televangelism. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1981. Accessed March 25, 2023.
  4. “About.” Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations. Accessed March 25, 2023. http://religiouspolicycommission.org/
  5. “About.” Trinity Foundation. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://trinityfi.org/
  6. Evans, Pete. “Televangelist watchdog group questions ECFA response to Sen. Grassley investigation.” Trinity Foundation, Inc. March 13, 2013. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://trinityfi.org/televangelist-watchdog-group-questions-ecfa-response-to-sen-grassley-investigation/
  7. Speckhardt, Roy. “Make Churches Accountable.” Huffington Post. July 14, 2011. Accessed March 26, 2023. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-speckhardt/make-churches-accountable_b_897488.html
  8.  Shellnut, Kate. “ECFA Names New President.” Christianity Today. March 25, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/march/ecfa-financial-accountability-new-president-martin.html
  9. “Standards.” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://www.ecfa.org/Standards.aspx
  10. “FAQs.” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Accessed March 23, 2023 https://www.ecfa.org/Content/FAQs-How-Does-ECFA-Accreditation-and-MemberAccountability-Work
  11. “Resources.” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://www.ecfa.org/Resources.aspx
  12. Roys, Julie. “WORLD Magazine Cover Story Suggests ECFA Accreditation is a Rubber Stamp.” The Roys Report. September 13, 2019. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://julieroys.com/world-magazine-cover-story-suggests-ecfa-accreditation-is-a-rubber-stamp/
  13. Roys, Julie. “Former Elders Say ECFA Ignored Their Warning Six Years Ago About Harvest’s Lack of Financial Controls.” The Roys Report. April 25, 2019. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://julieroys.com/former-elders-say-ecfa-ignored-warning-six-years-ago-harvests-lack-financial-controls/
  14. Roys, Julie. “National Religious Broadcasters on Brink of Bankruptcy & in Fight with Past President; ECFA Fails to Flag.” The Roys Report. June 20, 2019. https://julieroys.com/national-religious-broadcasters-brink-bankruptcy-ecfa-fails-flag/
  15. Roys, Julie. “WORLD Magazine Cover Story Suggests ECFA Accreditation is a Rubber Stamp.” The Roys Report. September 13, 2019. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://julieroys.com/world-magazine-cover-story-suggests-ecfa-accreditation-is-a-rubber-stamp/
  16. Shellnut, Kate. “ECFA Names New President.” Christianity Today. March 25, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/march/ecfa-financial-accountability-new-president-martin.html
  17. Shellnut, Kate. “ECFA Names New President.” Christianity Today. March 25, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/march/ecfa-financial-accountability-new-president-martin.html
  18.  Roys, Julie. “ECFA President Dan Busby to Retire Amid Controversy.” The Roys Report. October 14, 2019. Accessed March 25, 2023.  https://julieroys.com/ecfa-president-dan-busby-to-retire-amid-controversy/
  19. Roys, Julie. “President of Evangelical Financial Accountability Group Fined for Unlicensed use of CPA Title.” The Roys Report. March 18, 2019. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://julieroys.com/president-evangelical-financial-accountability-group-fined-falsely-claiming-cpa/
  20. “Michael Martin.” Christian Leadership Alliance. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://christianleadershipalliance.org/staff/michael-martin/
  21. “Dan Busby and Michael Martin.” Amazon.com. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dan+Busby+and+Michael+Martin&crid=1R6WB58LWSOAH&sprefix=dan+busby+and+michael+martin%2Caps%2C92&ref=nb_sb_noss
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 2019

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $4,790,236 $4,108,684 $4,988,846 $1,015,170 Y $522,061 $4,219,383 $15,034 $794,058 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $4,184,380 $4,440,071 $4,052,419 $760,295 Y $22,703 $4,047,404 $47,858 $1,017,950 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $5,073,870 $3,867,812 $4,230,885 $683,070 Y $1,204,549 $3,752,516 $22,503 $1,051,991 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $3,732,859 $3,690,172 $2,903,076 $561,319 Y $134,026 $3,494,449 $5,995 $781,189 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $3,449,700 $3,623,992 $2,826,656 $527,586 Y $36,285 $3,280,627 $4,059 $881,456
    2015 Dec Form 990 $3,942,990 $2,905,315 $3,276,413 $803,051 Y $786,351 $3,036,144 $5,489 $670,959 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $2,933,410 $2,644,718 $2,471,670 $1,035,983 Y $64,936 $2,765,092 $6,323 $516,399 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $2,862,558 $2,772,249 $2,296,889 $1,149,894 Y $220,807 $2,556,034 $6,931 $405,042 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $2,762,107 $2,755,021 $2,290,047 $1,233,361 Y $291,662 $2,376,520 $9,896 $349,003 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $2,628,450 $2,563,111 $2,068,551 $1,022,911 Y $278,906 $2,197,558 $13,287 $528,014 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)


    Winchester, VA