Reality Ministries 
The information on this page was last updated 12/15/2025. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Reality Ministries fosters friendships amongst people of all abilities marked by mutuality, authenticity and the reality of Christ's love for all.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Reality Ministries
P.O. Box 242
Durham, NC 27702
Website: realityministriesinc.org
Phone: 919-688-7776
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 261514118
CEO/President: Susan McSwain
Chairman: Steve Unruhe
Board size: 10
Founder:
Ruling year: 2008
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
Reality Ministries is rooted in the all-inclusive love of Jesus and the belovedness of every person. Our community includes all sorts of difference...ability, race, ethnicity, faith, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, theological perspective, socioeconomic status, citizenship, language. Committed to fostering a community of respect and standing against all forms of discrimination, we seek to be a community of welcome where inherent dignity is affirmed, diverse gifts are celebrated, and sacredness of every person is valued.
Mission statement
To create opportunities for adults with and without developmental disabilities to experience belonging, kinship and the life-changing Reality of Christ's love.
Statement of faith
While Reality Ministries' Statement of Faith is reflected in the ancient creeds below, people of any faith and no faith are boundlessly welcome!
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him, all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
A Christ-Centered View of Reality
Reality Ministries is founded on the scriptural precept that the Creator and God/human Jesus Christ is the central truth of the cosmos (Col 1:16-17).
A Christ-Centered Unconditional Love
As proven in Christ's sacrificial death, God loves us more than he loves himself (1 John 3:16). God's good creatures fall into sinful self-destruction, but in his life, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has embraced all persons at their worst to rescue and redeem them for a renewed relationship with the triune God (Rom 5:5-10, Col 1:13-14).
A Christ-Centered Inclusion
The exclusive claim of Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6) excludes no one. Jesus Christ is the most inclusive person there is (Jn 12:32)! We are all implicated in the Second Adam even more than in the first (Rom 5:18).
A Christ-Centered Belonging
We belong to God by grace alone. Not by what we have done, but because of who Christ is and what he has done (Rom 3:23-24). Repentance and belief occur inside of belonging (Rom 2:4). Jesus Christ is the Savior of all people (1 Tim 4:10) and the Lord of all people (Phil 2:10).
A Christ-Centered Human Dignity
Each person is created in the Image of God, who is Jesus Christ (Col 1:15, Eph 2:10). No one is outside of the blessing (Rom 11:32). No one, therefore, has more value than another. In Christ all people have dignity, integrity, and intrinsic worth.
A Christ-Centered Grasp of Community
Humans are made for community. Through the Son of God, we are by grace adopted children of God, created to share the relational love eternally going on between Trinitarian Persons (Eph 1:3-10). We are therefore called to communion with God, and to kinship and mutuality with one another, all in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17).
A Christ-Centered Human Response to God
Unless we were united with Christ, we could not know God or respond to God (Mt 11:27, Jn 15:5). As God, Jesus Christ shares his true knowledge of God with us, and as a human being, his true response to God for us. Within his response for us, we discover our most particularized and personalized response! (Col 3:4, Mt 16:25)
A Christ-Centered Approach to Hospitality
We welcome each other unconditionally because of the way Christ has welcomed every one of us (Rom 15:7). Because Christ has forgiven us before we ask, we desire to do the same (Eph 4:32, Lk 23:34, Mt 18:22). Hospitality also involves providing a safe place where people can thrive in unity and peace (Col 3:15, Rom 14:19).
A Christ-Centered Reading of Scripture
The written word of God is not to be conflated with, or separated from, the Living Word of God. The highest view of the Bible is one which submits to the Word (Jn 1:1).
A Christ-Centered Transformation
We have been given a right relationship with God! Living into the truth of who we are and whose we are, we are reoriented by God's transformational grace in Christ (Rom 12:1-2). To reject our relationship with the Lord and Savior to whom we belong is inherently self-destructive and ripples with myriad consequences (2 Peter 2:1-2).
A Christ-Centered Reality of Reconciliation
A Christ-Centered Reality of Reconciliation: In light of the truth of Jesus Christ for all human beings, we refuse to be satisfied with a world-view that separates humanity from God or human beings from one another. In Christ our true humanity resides, and there is no "us and them." We belong to each other. That is the REALITY of reconciliation in which we may participate (2 Cor 5:19).
Articles
| 1/23/2026 | Truth At Work Resigns From the ECFA |
Donor confidence score
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Transparency grade
C
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Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Community Development
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 1042 of 1420 | 95 of 145 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 639 of 1420 | 56 of 145 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 753 of 1420 | 83 of 145 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 1299 of 1421 | 129 of 145 |
To understand our financial efficiency ratings, click here.
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 6% | 5% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 5% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 4% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 91% | 86% | 88% | 89% | 94% | 91% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 5% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 10% | 7% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 9% | 14% | 12% | 11% | 6% | 9% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 82% | 82% | 84% | 66% | 71% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 97% | 103% | 94% | 83% | 55% | 68% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 79% | 85% | 76% | 69% | 37% | 48% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 3% | -3% | 6% | 17% | 45% | 32% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 4% | -2% | 3% | 9% | 28% | 24% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 11% | 14% | 15% | 11% | 24% | 22% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 1.01 | 0.50 | 0.45 | 0.43 | 0.32 | 0.44 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.87 | 4.23 | 4.39 | 4.39 | 2.45 | 4.35 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 2.16 | 2.13 | 1.98 | 1.87 | 0.79 | 1.91 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 11.81 | 57.97 | 61.10 | 83.40 | 126.19 | 69.12 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 4.74 | 5.54 | 5.97 | 6.33 | 15.11 | 6.19 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 10% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 8% | 16% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 7% | 16% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 76% | 198% | 221% | 220% | 287% | 191% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Cash | $709,348 | $694,171 | $714,022 | $1,141,115 | $498,282 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5,447 | $12,115 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $709,348 | $694,171 | $714,022 | $1,146,562 | $510,397 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $2,292,788 | $2,355,145 | $2,417,715 | $1,664,529 | $1,711,002 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $466 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $2,292,788 | $2,355,145 | $2,417,715 | $1,664,995 | $1,711,002 |
| Total assets | $3,002,136 | $3,049,316 | $3,131,737 | $2,811,557 | $2,221,399 |
| Liabilities | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $12,237 | $11,362 | $8,561 | $7,061 | $6,162 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,025 | $1,222 |
| Total current liabilities | $12,237 | $11,362 | $8,561 | $9,086 | $7,384 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $179,706 | $209,473 | $345,429 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $179,706 | $209,473 | $345,429 |
| Total liabilities | $12,237 | $11,362 | $188,267 | $218,559 | $352,813 |
| Net assets | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Without donor restrictions | $2,893,736 | $2,932,871 | $2,689,333 | $1,974,508 | $1,836,399 |
| With donor restrictions | $96,163 | $105,083 | $254,137 | $618,490 | $32,187 |
| Net assets | $2,989,899 | $3,037,954 | $2,943,470 | $2,592,998 | $1,868,586 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Total contributions | $1,264,921 | $1,294,365 | $1,443,335 | $1,529,577 | $1,305,922 |
| Program service revenue | $222,344 | $219,403 | $195,280 | $140,290 | $174,892 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $20,953 | $3,919 | $421 | $588 | $842 |
| Other revenue | ($45,449) | ($51,249) | ($24,189) | ($42,606) | ($52,579) |
| Total other revenue | $197,848 | $172,073 | $171,512 | $98,272 | $123,155 |
| Total revenue | $1,462,769 | $1,466,438 | $1,614,847 | $1,627,849 | $1,429,077 |
| Expenses | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Program services | $1,239,319 | $1,121,328 | $1,121,714 | $600,587 | $691,538 |
| Management and general | $213,278 | $202,494 | $145,882 | $216,838 | $216,526 |
| Fundraising | $58,227 | $48,132 | $70,825 | $86,012 | $67,867 |
| Total expenses | $1,510,824 | $1,371,954 | $1,338,421 | $903,437 | $975,931 |
| Change in net assets | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Surplus (deficit) | ($48,055) | $94,484 | $276,426 | $724,412 | $453,146 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | ($48,055) | $94,484 | $276,426 | $724,412 | $453,146 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Susan McSwain | Executive Director | $84,925 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2025
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 12/15/2025. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
From its inception in December 2007, Reality Ministries (501c3) has focused on building community with the overlooked and underserved populations in Durham, beginning with those with developmental disabilities. The original Reality vision was for all staff, volunteers, and participants to grow together in the truth that the deepest reality of life is God's love for every person in Jesus Christ.
In May 2008, Reality purchased an old church building on the edge of downtown Durham. It didn't take long to realize that Reality's ministry with Durham's marginalized populations was changing to include not only teenagers with disabilities but also disadvantaged youth from the inner-city who were flooding into the center every day. "After-school" programming included various recreational opportunities and a tutoring program, along with Christian leadership opportunities.
The fall of 2010 was a time of expansion for Reality Ministries. New Horizons Academy, an independent, tuition-free school serving students who struggled to succeed in public high school, became part of Reality. That year also saw the inception of Rebound, a program for Durham Public School students on short-term suspension. At the same time. the special needs ministry was expanding. Now welcoming adults in addition to teens, our programming doubled in size. Additional weekly options for friends of all abilities like Pass the Peas and small home group gatherings helped to keep relationships at the center as our numbers grew.
In 2013 the Reality team entered a season of discernment and made the decision to focus on its rapidly growing ministry with adults of all abilities. New Horizons Academy and Rebound transitioned into separate nonprofit organizations.
Program accomplishments
Today, over 250 adults with developmental disabilities and 200+ volunteers share life together in a variety of ways, including:
Morning Mingles - 5 times each week in Durham and Chapel Hill
Evening gatherings - three evenings a week, with dinner, small group gatherings, and fellowship
The Reality Cafe - serving 600+ meals to the wider community each year.
Four Residences - the Corner House, the Isaac House and two Friendship Houses.
Spring Retreats - taking 200 Reality friends to the mountains, Hyco Lake or the beach
and countless friendships growing in all sorts of ways
Each year, two to three Community Life Assistants spend 12 months working full-time at Reality and facilitating connection and belonging in our programs.