Set Free Alliance (formerly known as Water of Life) 
The information on this page was last updated 4/24/2024. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Sharing Christ's Love with People in Need Around the World.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Set Free Alliance
333 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Greenville, SC 29609
Website: setfreealliance.org
Phone: 864.469.9500
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 200202488
CEO/President: Sarah Kelley
Chairman: Greg Szabo
Board size: 9
Founder: Roland Bergeron
Ruling year: 2005
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/31
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 2012
Purpose
Set Free works with in-country partners to rescue children, provide clean water, host medical clinics, and plant churches to make disciples of Christ.
We serve people by meeting their most basic human needs. Working primarily in India, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, we focus on immediate challenges in order to make a long-term impact and an eternal difference.
Mission statement
Creating a world where all are set free in Christ is a monumental goal. Giving clean water, rescuing children, providing mobile medical clinics, and planting churches all work together to make this vision a reality. And while there are lots of other organizations doing similar things, Set Free is different than most because of a handful of core values we are committed to protecting in every single thing we do.
Statement of faith
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
II TIMOTHY 3:15-17
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
MATTHEW 28:19 | EPHESIANS 4:4-6
We believe in the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His present rule as Head of the Church and in His personal return in power and glory.
JOHN 1:1-4 | MATTHEW 1:12 | PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 | HEBREWS 1:1-4, 4:15
ACTS 1:11, 2:22-24 | I CORINTHIANS 15:3-4
We believe that, for the salvation of lost and sinful men, repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ results in regeneration by the Holy Spirit and that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.
TITUS 3:4-7 | LUKE 24:46-47 | EPHESIANS 2:8-9 | JOHN 14:6 | ACTS 4:12
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life.
GALATIANS 5:16-18 | ROMANS 8:9
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of eternal life and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and eternal punishment.
REVELATION 20:11-15 | I CORINTHIANS 15:51-57
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the Church, with equality across racial, gender and class differences.
EPHESIANS 1:22-23 | I CORINTHIANS 12:12, 27
We believe that the ministry of evangelism is a responsibility of both the church and each Christian.
ROMANS 10:9-15 | ACTS 1:8 | MATTHEW 28:18-20 | I PETER 3:15
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Foreign Missions
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 680 of 1118 | 86 of 140 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 1050 of 1119 | 130 of 140 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 805 of 1119 | 95 of 140 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 12 of 1118 | 2 of 140 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 6% | 17% | 13% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 5% | 15% | 13% | 9% | 9% | 13% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 98% | 89% | 94% | 94% | 91% | 100% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 5% | 15% | 13% | 9% | 9% | 12% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 2% | 11% | 6% | 6% | 9% | 0% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 81% | 84% | 87% | 88% | 83% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 98% | 105% | 99% | 99% | 104% | 110% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 84% | 85% | 83% | 86% | 92% | 92% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 2% | -5% | 1% | 1% | -4% | -10% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 3% | -170% | 8% | 14% | -57% | -105% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 9% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 5% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 1.34 | 28.39 | 11.07 | 11.20 | 13.84 | 10.82 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.27 | 1.00 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.00 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 2.14 | 28.39 | 11.14 | 11.28 | 13.96 | 10.82 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 17.61 | 5.48 | 21.56 | 15.00 | 75.26 | 38.41 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.05 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 5.24 | 0.35 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.85 | 1.08 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 8% | 18% | 5% | 7% | 1% | 3% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 68% | 3% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 9% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Cash | $144,093 | $329,058 | $310,416 | $245,180 | $167,962 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $0 | $2,854 | $0 | $5,675 | $0 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $144,093 | $331,912 | $310,416 | $250,855 | $167,962 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $2,100 | $2,100 | $2,100 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $0 | $2,100 | $2,100 | $2,100 | $0 |
| Total assets | $144,093 | $334,012 | $312,516 | $252,955 | $167,962 |
| Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $26,299 | $15,398 | $20,691 | $3,333 | $4,373 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current liabilities | $26,299 | $15,398 | $20,691 | $3,333 | $4,373 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total liabilities | $26,299 | $15,398 | $20,691 | $3,333 | $4,373 |
| Net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Without donor restrictions | $116,829 | $309,284 | $246,176 | $179,952 | $162,398 |
| With donor restrictions | $965 | $9,330 | $45,649 | $69,670 | $1,191 |
| Net assets | $117,794 | $318,614 | $291,825 | $249,622 | $163,589 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Total contributions | $3,465,696 | $3,503,847 | $3,322,047 | $3,045,997 | $1,641,148 |
| Program service revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4,599 |
| Other revenue | $424,797 | $220,454 | $221,585 | $313,534 | $0 |
| Total other revenue | $424,797 | $220,454 | $221,585 | $313,534 | $4,599 |
| Total revenue | $3,890,493 | $3,724,301 | $3,543,632 | $3,359,531 | $1,645,747 |
| Expenses | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Program services | $3,319,159 | $3,094,674 | $3,056,667 | $3,075,291 | $1,514,693 |
| Management and general | $174,060 | $134,961 | $138,305 | $127,267 | $85,156 |
| Fundraising | $598,094 | $467,877 | $306,457 | $298,202 | $218,196 |
| Total expenses | $4,091,313 | $3,697,512 | $3,501,429 | $3,500,760 | $1,818,045 |
| Change in net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Surplus (deficit) | ($200,820) | $26,789 | $42,203 | ($141,229) | ($172,298) |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | ($200,820) | $26,789 | $42,203 | ($141,229) | ($172,298) |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Sarah Kelley | CEO | $102,769 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2023
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 4/24/2024. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
When Roland Bergeron, owner of a custom home building company, first heard that more than 800 million people in the world didn't have access to clean water, he was shocked. An engineer by trade, he became even more involved in water ministry in 2002 when he went on his first mission trip to Central America. From that moment on, Roland knew he had found his life's calling and began Water of Life. But he still felt unsettled. He was doing the right work but in the wrong location. Roland felt called to go to the hard places, unreached places, places where other organizations weren't working. So, after a lot of prayer and a little divine nudging - Water of Life moved into Liberia, Sierra Leone, and India.
As the well drilling and church planting work expanded into India, another problem was revealed - the child slavery epidemic. Our India partner felt compelled to act. We knew that we couldn't tell people about the grace and love of Jesus yet leave thousands of children enslaved. After discussions with our partner and a key supporter of this mission, Brookwood Church, Set Free Alliance started in 2011 to rescue, reunite, and care for the enslaved, orphaned, and vulnerable children of India.
Yet, God still wasn't done with us. The work continued and the Kingdom of God grew exponentially to the point that slave owners were following Water of Life drill crews around to release their slaves into the care of pastor partners' churches through Set Free Alliance. After some more prayer and continued conversations, Set Free Alliance and Water of Life merged to become Set Free in 2019 with the holistic vision to create a world where all are set free in the name of Christ.