Orange County Rescue Mission 
The information on this page was last updated 3/11/2026. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Orange County Rescue Mission is home to the Village of Hope, a 262-bed transitional housing program for homeless men, women and children.
Our Philosophy: To operate in a dynamic, entrepreneurial manner, expecting to grow and expand numerically, programmatically, and geographically. We seek to be constantly challenged with fresh vision and well-prepared strategies that originate with the President and the senior professional staff, and that are refined, confirmed, and approved by the Board of Directors.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Orange County Rescue Mission
1 Hope Drive
Tustin, CA 92782
Website: www.rescuemission.org
Phone: (714) 247-4300
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 952479552
CEO/President: Bryan Crain
Chairman: Bart Hansen
Board size: 9
Founder: Lewis Whitehead
Ruling year: 1972
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 09/30
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
The men, women and children who enter the gates of the Orange County Rescue Mission come from many walks of life and are all wounded in different ways. None of these people ever imagined they'd be homeless and they all need our help. Our goal is to treat each person with respect and dignity. We prayerfully consider how we will implement an Individual Treatment Plan for those who come to us for help.
Mission statement
To minister the love of Jesus Christ to the Least, the Last, and the Lost of our Community through the provision of assistance in the areas of guidance, counseling, education, job training, shelter, food, clothing, health care and independent living communities.
Statement of faith
Articles
| 4/10/2026 | At Least Eight Ministries Resign From ECFA in Recent Weeks |
| 3/6/2026 | Orange County Rescue Mission Resigns from ECFA |
| 9/2/2025 | From Addiction to the Finish Line |
Donor confidence score
Show donor confidence score details
To understand our donor confidence score, click here.
Transparency grade
C
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Rescue Missions/Homeless Shelters
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 1333 of 1420 | 142 of 159 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 1114 of 1420 | 128 of 159 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 1110 of 1420 | 119 of 159 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 1210 of 1421 | 141 of 159 |
To understand our financial efficiency ratings, click here.
Click here to read Orange County Rescue Mission's response to our ratings
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 10% | 16% | 15% | 16% | 8% | 13% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 8% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 8% | 13% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 93% | 97% | 98% | 98% | 99% | 97% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 10% | 19% | 18% | 19% | 14% | 16% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 7% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 81% | 74% | 75% | 75% | 80% | 79% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 97% | 81% | 84% | 82% | 57% | 79% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 79% | 60% | 63% | 62% | 46% | 62% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 3% | 19% | 16% | 18% | 43% | 21% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 2% | 6% | 5% | 6% | 22% | 10% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 9% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.56 | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.29 | 0.37 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 3.07 | 4.07 | 5.42 | 7.72 | 11.08 | 5.19 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 2.05 | 1.03 | 1.43 | 1.97 | 3.18 | 1.91 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 10.24 | 18.48 | 10.34 | 9.60 | 5.41 | 5.68 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.18 | 0.18 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 5.18 | 11.03 | 7.58 | 5.46 | 3.07 | 5.17 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 10% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 145% | 390% | 373% | 387% | 342% | 262% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Cash | $18,112,525 | $12,722,228 | $7,768,441 | $5,150,822 | $9,475,928 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $1,914,788 | $1,446,562 | $1,628,453 | $1,039,428 | $1,059,289 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $20,027,313 | $14,168,790 | $9,396,894 | $6,190,250 | $10,535,217 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $61,492,542 | $62,685,619 | $63,154,294 | $62,408,682 | $44,169,149 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $61,492,542 | $62,685,619 | $63,154,294 | $62,408,682 | $44,169,149 |
| Total assets | $81,519,855 | $76,854,409 | $72,551,188 | $68,598,932 | $54,704,366 |
| Liabilities | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $1,083,892 | $1,369,730 | $978,584 | $1,143,851 | $1,855,348 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current liabilities | $1,083,892 | $1,369,730 | $978,584 | $1,143,851 | $1,855,348 |
| 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 | $1,083,892 | $1,369,730 | $978,584 | $1,143,851 | $1,855,348 |
| Net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Without donor restrictions | $80,096,463 | $75,145,179 | $71,260,228 | $67,142,705 | $52,849,018 |
| With donor restrictions | $339,500 | $339,500 | $312,376 | $312,376 | $0 |
| Net assets | $80,435,963 | $75,484,679 | $71,572,604 | $67,455,081 | $52,849,018 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Total contributions | $24,706,758 | $23,682,209 | $22,191,095 | $33,969,562 | $24,659,349 |
| Program service revenue | $260,618 | $291,613 | $308,614 | $142,961 | $214,695 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $498,675 | $55,430 | $102,221 | $42,524 | $62,032 |
| Other revenue | $102,075 | $48,773 | $24,560 | $163,522 | $554,925 |
| Total other revenue | $861,368 | $395,816 | $435,395 | $349,007 | $831,652 |
| Total revenue | $25,568,126 | $24,078,025 | $22,626,490 | $34,318,569 | $25,491,001 |
| Expenses | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Program services | $15,314,785 | $15,183,350 | $13,917,110 | $15,760,347 | $15,891,729 |
| Management and general | $1,415,625 | $1,439,069 | $1,147,288 | $1,108,919 | $950,254 |
| Fundraising | $3,886,437 | $3,632,231 | $3,444,572 | $2,843,240 | $3,292,572 |
| Total expenses | $20,616,847 | $20,254,650 | $18,508,970 | $19,712,506 | $20,134,555 |
| Change in net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $4,951,279 | $3,823,375 | $4,117,520 | $14,606,063 | $5,356,446 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $4,951,279 | $3,823,375 | $4,117,520 | $14,606,063 | $5,356,446 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Mr Jim Palmer | Former President | $469,575 |
| Mr Bryan Crain | President | $313,528 |
| Mr Larry Gwilt | Chief Financial Officer | $247,343 |
| Mrs Jodie Saunderson | Chief HR Officer | $223,866 |
| Mr Kyle Houlton | Chief Development Officer | $138,799 |
Compensation data as of: 9/30/2024
Response from ministry
OCRM has long valued financial transparency and accountability, and we were pleased to receive consistently positive reviews from ECFA during our membership. However, after careful consideration, we concluded that non-renewal was the most appropriate step for our organization at this time. This decision was made in consultation with and the full support of OCRM's Board of Directors.
OCRM undergoes an annual independent financial audit conducted by a reputable international CPA firm. The audited financial statements are publicly posted on our website. Their opinions have consistently stated that the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, which provides strong assurance of our fiscal integrity and stewardship.
Additionally, OCRM continues to maintain a four-star rating (100%) with Charity Navigator, the Platinum Seal of Transparency with Candid (formerly GuideStar), and the Certificate of Excellence from Citygate Network (formerly the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions).
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/11/2026. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
During the year of President Kennedy's assassination, fearful Americans anxiously awaited nuclear destruction from the sky, drugs began their invasion of the middle-class and a place called Vietnam loomed dangerously on the horizon. It was the year "Camelot" died tragically in its infancy.
In that turbulent setting, it is hardly surprising that local passers-by didn't concern themselves with the disturbance under a bridge in an "undesirable" part of town. But a husky African American soldier in the U.S. Marine Corps, acting on impulse, did stop his car to investigate. This spur-of-the-moment decision by Tech Sergeant Lewis Whitehead was to give birth to Orange County's largest and most effective Christian-based private human service organization.
What he faced under that bridge in 1963 changed his life forever. The altercation was minor (his dominating presence quelled the dispute quickly), but the sight of filthy men, women and children living under the bridge changed his vision of this community. They suffered under conditions that Sergeant Whitehead thought only existed in the poorest of nations and made a mockery of Hollywood's representation of the homeless as happy-go-lucky "hobos".
Images of those wretched people haunted his thoughts as he returned to his duty directing the mess hall at the Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin. That day, as he watched good food being thrown away, a combination of sorrow and determination overcame him.
He packed up some of this "waste" food and returned to the bridge to feed the hungry. The next day he returned again, and the next. Sergeant Whitehead held vigil with these dirty, undesirable people, gathering food and clothing for the children and encouraging the adults to resist drowning their despondency in alcohol. As he grew to know them, he found that these people were not wantonly homeless. He found that they were victims of deep emotional and spiritual wounds; that their capacity to cope with social responsibility had been slowly whittled away by unresolved childhood crises, and often relentless alcohol abuse which helped deaden their pain.
Once Sergeant Whitehead's eyes were opened to the plight of the homeless, he began to see others in the same circumstance.
They were everywhere in "idyllic and affluent" Orange County, but the community seemed ignorant of them - as he so recently was. He began to stand up in church, speaking softly at first, then loudly, chastising his fellow neighbors for failing to comfort these hurting people. As a handful of churchgoers responded to his impassioned pleas, the Marine used his formidable leadership skills to unite the volunteers and build the framework for the county's first Rescue Mission, which opened in a run-down office above a downtown Santa Ana shoe store.
From those humble beginnings, a rising tide of community support enlarged the Orange County Rescue Mission through several temporary buildings and residential homes. Soon, the Orange County Rescue Mission became the county's largest privately funded human service agency for the poor and homeless. This was achieved without one penny of the taxpayers' money.
Throughout the ensuing decades since that epochal day in 1963, as people saw the needs which the Rescue Mission was able to meet through their help, that support has grown. Providentially (and ironically), OCRM's flagship transitional living facility, the Village of Hope, was built on the former Tustin Marine Base, a mere "stone's throw" from the mess hall from which Sergeant Whitehead fed his first homeless families.
The Orange County Rescue Mission continues to implement innovative programs designed to offer the greatest long-term benefit to those who take advantage of them. Thank you for being a part of our growing vision. We hope you will continue to see the value in what we are doing and join us in this great work!
Program accomplishments
1,580,913 meals
115,375 nights of shelter
1,088,345 clothing items
51,667 children's education sessions
53,631 medical and mental health services
35,542 adult education and training sessions
Needs
Urgent Needs:
- Liquid hand soap
- Soap bars
- Shampoo bottles
- New underwear for kids
- New underwear for women
- Toothpaste tubes
- Razors
- Shaving cream
- Feminine hygiene products
- Laundry detergent
- Toilet paper rolls
- Twin sheet sets
- Bath towels
- Pillows