Bethany Christian Services 
The information on this page was last updated 1/30/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Bethany supports vulnerable kids and families in the U.S. and around the world, because everyone deserves to be safe, loved, and connected. Today, 140 million kids don't have a permanent home. That's unacceptable. At Bethany, we witness what happens when people choose love. Not theoretical, unblemished love, but the real, messy, imperfect kind.
Love that empowers vulnerable kids and families everywhere. The children hurting at home, and the ones unprotected at a border. The orphans and vulnerable children who feel alone, and the refugees living in a world of uncertainty. Everyone deserves to be loved. Together, we can change the world through family.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Bethany Christian Services
901 Eastern Ave. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Website: www.bethany.org
Phone: (800) 238-4269
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 381405282
CEO/President: Bill Blacquiere
Chairman: Mark Augustyn
Board size: 13
Founder: Marguerite Bonnema and Mary DeBoer
Ruling year: 1945
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/31
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
Bethany is an international Christian nonprofit changing the world through family. 75 years ago, we began our work by serving one child. Today, we partner with churches and communities in more than 30 states and nearly a dozen countries to strengthen and preserve families, support refugees and immigrants fleeing danger, and find safe, loving families for children who need them. Bethany demonstrates the love and compassion of Jesus, impacting hundreds of thousands of lives every year, because we believe everyone deserves to be safe, loved, and connected.
Mission statement
Bethany demonstrates the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting children, empowering youth, and strengthening families through quality social services.
Statement of faith
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
C
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Adoption/Foster Care
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 149 of 1097 | 3 of 34 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 489 of 1099 | 13 of 34 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 344 of 1099 | 8 of 34 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 39 of 1097 | 1 of 34 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 8% | 6% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 16% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 4% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 63% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 4% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 37% | 93% | 91% | 90% | 89% | 89% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 88% | 87% | 86% | 87% | 86% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 97% | 99% | 102% | 95% | 99% | 101% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 80% | 87% | 89% | 82% | 85% | 87% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 3% | 1% | -2% | 5% | 1% | -1% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 5% | 9% | -20% | 35% | 14% | -10% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 11% | 12% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.83 | 4.22 | 4.11 | 4.04 | 6.77 | 6.63 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.30 | 1.73 | 2.02 | 1.61 | 1.25 | 1.20 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.64 | 7.31 | 8.30 | 6.50 | 8.45 | 7.97 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 14.05 | 2.01 | 2.36 | 7.88 | 3.13 | 2.75 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.07 | 0.50 | 0.42 | 0.13 | 0.32 | 0.36 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 5.98 | 0.83 | 0.83 | 1.61 | 0.97 | 0.96 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 8% | 55% | 54% | 37% | 33% | 34% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 8% | 4% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 91% | 11% | 11% | 16% | 10% | 10% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Cash | $2,021,034 | ($2,749,427) | $6,280,158 | $1,196,848 | $370,930 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $20,722,381 | $20,067,234 | $12,784,483 | $13,848,150 | $14,585,362 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $22,743,415 | $17,317,807 | $19,064,641 | $15,044,998 | $14,956,292 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $7,254,338 | $6,896,998 | $3,378,478 | $3,007,546 | $2,288,825 |
| Other long-term assets | $9,427,234 | $10,740,864 | $8,206,015 | $720,610 | $751,957 |
| Total long-term assets | $16,681,572 | $17,637,862 | $11,584,493 | $3,728,156 | $3,040,782 |
| Total assets | $39,424,987 | $34,955,669 | $30,649,134 | $18,773,154 | $17,997,074 |
| Liabilities | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $10,454,737 | $6,374,308 | $691,752 | $2,233,281 | $3,221,832 |
| Other current liabilities | $854,472 | $958,951 | $1,726,416 | $2,572,666 | $2,207,169 |
| Total current liabilities | $11,309,209 | $7,333,259 | $2,418,168 | $4,805,947 | $5,429,001 |
| Debt | $1,470,000 | $1,470,000 | $1,470,000 | $1,470,000 | $720,000 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $8,939,863 | $10,010,640 | $7,461,206 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $10,409,863 | $11,480,640 | $8,931,206 | $1,470,000 | $720,000 |
| Total liabilities | $21,719,072 | $18,813,899 | $11,349,374 | $6,275,947 | $6,149,001 |
| Net assets | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Without donor restrictions | $17,705,915 | $16,141,770 | $19,299,760 | $12,497,207 | $11,848,073 |
| With donor restrictions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assets | $17,705,915 | $16,141,770 | $19,299,760 | $12,497,207 | $11,848,073 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Total contributions | $11,874,696 | $12,285,928 | $13,046,390 | $14,373,065 | $13,533,993 |
| Program service revenue | $155,876,404 | $128,435,208 | $117,501,548 | $114,122,280 | $103,775,983 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $18,264 | ($5,211) | $15,614 | $52,400 | $52,267 |
| Other revenue | $8,533 | ($107,353) | $144,093 | $395,137 | $761,673 |
| Total other revenue | $155,903,201 | $128,322,644 | $117,661,255 | $114,569,817 | $104,589,923 |
| Total revenue | $167,777,897 | $140,608,572 | $130,707,645 | $128,942,882 | $118,123,916 |
| Expenses | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Program services | $145,681,267 | $124,765,320 | $106,966,662 | $110,145,565 | $103,064,812 |
| Management and general | $19,835,951 | $17,710,349 | $15,493,152 | $15,411,466 | $14,045,866 |
| Fundraising | $696,534 | $1,290,893 | $1,445,278 | $1,629,028 | $2,161,156 |
| Total expenses | $166,213,752 | $143,766,562 | $123,905,092 | $127,186,059 | $119,271,834 |
| Change in net assets | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $1,564,145 | ($3,157,990) | $6,802,553 | $1,756,823 | ($1,147,918) |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $1,564,145 | ($3,157,990) | $6,802,553 | $1,756,823 | ($1,147,918) |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Cheryl Jereczek | SVP, Donor Engagement | $218,737 |
| Christopher Palusky | President/Ceo - Part Year | $210,614 |
| Tawnya Brown | SVP, Global and Refugee Services | $186,406 |
| George Tyndall | SVP, Operations | $183,613 |
| Nhung Hurst | SVP, Legal Counsel | $182,987 |
| Scott Devries | Chief Financial Officer | $180,297 |
| Mark Venema | Sr. Dir. Financial Planning & Analysis | $152,357 |
| Michael Bruxvoort | VP,Information Technology | $152,173 |
| Andrea Osburn | SVP, Communications and Governance | $147,739 |
| Juan Fernandez | VP, Marketing & Communications | $144,782 |
| Leena Hill | VP, Global Services | $135,290 |
| Lorita Shirley | Chief Operations Officer | $132,892 |
| Bill Blacquiere | Interim President/CEO | $46,800 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2022
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 1/30/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
Making an Impact
Since 1944, Bethany has grown and developed not only into a well-known adoption agency, but a social services agency that serves and supports expectant parents, foster families, individuals and families in need of counseling, and struggling families and children who are in desperate need of even the most basic necessities. Bethany's purpose is to demonstrate the love of Christ by equipping families to be the answer for children in need. Our founders started Bethany by taking in one child who needed a home. Last year, Bethany served more than 45,000 expectant parents, children, and families.
How it All Started
In 1944, Marguerite Bonnema received the shock of her life.
To her surprise, a little neighbor girl revealed her father's strong dislike of his wife's illegitimate baby girl. "He is going to kill [the baby]," the little girl said. Marguerite replied, "Tell him not to kill her but to give her to me."
Arrangements were made-in a hurry. The neighbor mother and baby girl traveled by bus to a train station, where Marguerite and her friend and roommate Mary DeBoer received the child to live with them in their small apartment.
But the two didn't stop with one child. In the coming months, they took in five more babies, and that November, with the help of Andrew VanderVeer, they founded Bethany Christian Home as a nonprofit organization. The following year, the home moved to a residence on the 13-acre property in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Bethany's present headquarters now stand.
With a state childcare license procured, Marguerite and Mary's dream was now a fledgling reality-one which, prospering through the years, would help make countless other dreams come true.
In the words of our founders, "It was earnestly hoped that Bethany Christian Home would always be a place where Christ's presence could be felt and His blessing sought and enjoyed."
In 1951, Bethany obtained its child placement license and began serving as an adoption agency. Twenty-five children gained loving adoptive families through Bethany that year. Pregnancy counseling services also commenced, with 59 single mothers receiving guidance.
Amazing Growth, Amazing Grace
Bethany began with the dream of two women who stepped out in faith, with hearts full of love. Today, Bethany's diverse ministries and its influence both nationally and internationally have grown in ways its founders could never have imagined. But their dream remains our guiding star: to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families through quality social services. A string of awards, an impressive list of achievements, international favor and impact-these are just some of the by-products of serving as the hands and feet of Christ.
Program accomplishments
Bethany is reviewed by the Council of Accreditation on a regular basis to receive its reaccreditation. The accreditation process is designed to identify providers that have set high performance standards for themselves and have made a commitment to their constituents to deliver the highest quality services. COA continually recognizes Bethany Christian Services as one of these outstanding providers.
Over 75 years ago, we began our work by serving a single child. Today, we work in more than 30 states and more than a dozen countries worldwide, serving more than 50,000 people every year.