Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 2008.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
87 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
8 people listed on the 990; $61K paid to officers and key staff.
Laurie Aker’s $31K as Executive Di is at the 30th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2132 $100K–1M religion nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Aker | $30,150 | $36,750 | $38,100 | $40,975 | $46,750 | $8,000 |
| Laurie Aker | $30,800 | $32,500 | $31,950 | $29,975 | $19,150 | $19,800 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Equips and encourages women to follow Jesus through mentoring and discipleship.
Questions for Thistlebend Ministries
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Design, develop, write, film and publish bible based discipleship material for weekly studies, website resource site,you version,the bible app, email devotions, events and retreats.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $99K | $65K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $25K | $27K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $125K | $93K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2K | $1K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $124K | $91K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $6K | $6K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $64K | $55K | $6K | $3K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $5K | $4K | $499 | $249 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $4K | $4K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $8K | $8K | $155 | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $600 | $570 | $30 | |
| TravelLn 17 | $2K | $2K | $356 | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $241 | $241 | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $3K | $3K | $311 | $155 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $29K | $29K | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $12K | $10K | $548 | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $139K | $121K | $12K | $5K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $105K | $139K | −$34K | $91K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $147K | $184K | −$37K | $124K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $153K | $207K | −$54K | $157K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $146K | $205K | −$60K | $206K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $113K | $220K | −$106K | $264K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $54K | $182K | −$128K | $370K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $104,861 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 6 board members independent, 4 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $104,861 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $138,879 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $92,518 assets, 9 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $91,350 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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