Ligonier Ministries Inc

“The Organization's top management official and top financial official each review the Form 990 prior to its filing with the IRS. A copy of the final Form 990 is also provided to the voting members of the Organization's governing body prior to its filing with the IRS.”

“The Organization's conflict of interest policy is distributed to each member of the Organization's governing body, its officers, and its key employees on an annual basis. Each such individual provides an annual disclosure statement indicating that they have received, read, understood, and agreed to comply with the policy, and certifying that: (1) they have no relationships or interests that present a conflict of interest, (2) they have one or more conflicts of interest that have been fully disclosed as required by the policy and have been properly administered in conformity with the policy, or (3) they have previously undisclosed conflicts of interest and disclosing the details of such conflicts. Any disclosure statements with previously undisclosed conflicts of interest are forwarded to appropriate Organization officials to take appropriate actions as required by the policy.”

“The Organization's compensation-setting policy requires that an independent committee of the Board of Directors determine the compensation package of all officers and directors of the Organization. In addition, the independent committee of the Board of Directors reviews the salary levels of all employees who are family members of any officer or director, and, in the event that a family member employee is paid more than other individuals with similar positions within the Organization, the independent committee of the Board of Directors determines the compensation of that family member using the same compensation-setting procedures applicable to officers and directors. The independent committee of the Board of Directors considers, in setting such compensation, a compensation study by special legal counsel with expertise in the area of reasonable compensation for nonprofit executives, utilizing data regarding compensation paid to persons serving in similar capacities in comparable organizations as well as national compensation data such as that published by The Church Network, the Christian Management Association, and Guidestar. These compensation studies are performed periodically, with the most recent study performed during the 2017 tax year.”

“The Organization makes its financial statements and its Form 990 available to the public through the Organization's website. Financial statements, Form 990, and governing documents are available by mail upon request.”

“An audit of the Organization's financial statements is conducted annually by an independent certified public accounting firm, which has resulted in the issuance of an unqualified opinion. In addition, the Organization is a fully accredited member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and, as such, subscribes to ECFA's Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship addressing: (1) operation in conformity with the Organization's evangelical Christian doctrinal statement, (2) oversight by a Board of Directors, the majority of which are independent, (3) submission of complete, accurate, audited financial statements, (4) proper management and financial controls over the use of the Organization's resources, (5) public availability of the Organization's current financial statements upon written request, (6) avoidance of conflicts of interest, and (7) responsible, truthful fund-raising practices.”

“The amounts reported on line 24e relate to reimbursements from a related organization under certain administrative services and lease agreements.”

“The amounts reported on line 26 relate to the allocation of web hosting expenses for the Ministry's website, Ligonier.org. The Ministry's website is one of the Ministry's primary vehicles for disseminating information, instruction, and training on Reformed Christian doctrine, as further described in the response to Part III, Line 4a (Online Learning). The Ministry has conservatively estimated that approximately 83% of the website's content is program-related, and approximately 17% is fundraising-related. The Ministry's web hosting expenses have therefore been allocated accordingly.”

“The Organization is party to several licensing agreements with certain Board members related to its publishing activities, requiring the Organization to make annual royalty payments related to the sales of published items. The Organization has similar agreements in place with a number of unrelated parties. Royalties related to current-year sales of published items are estimated and accrued by the Organization at year-end. Accrued royalties are typically paid within 60 days of the Organization's year-end once final sales information for the published items is available. Accrued royalties payable to these Board members are generated in the ordinary course of the Organization's publishing activities under similar terms as those payable to other unrelated authors. As of December 31, 2019, the following accrued royalties payable to Board members were included in accounts payable and accrued expenses: Vesta Sproul: $33,830 Dr. Steven Lawson: $7,518 Robert Godfrey: $5,400”

“The Ministry has entered into a license agreement with the founder of the ministry. As a result of the aforementioned licensing agreement the initial carrying value, less any payments made during the year, is included in other liabilities. Please see Schedule L, Part V for more information.”

“The Ministry has entered into a license agreement with the founder of the ministry. As a result of the aforementioned licensing agreement the net present value of the intellectual property is included in other assets. Please see Schedule L, Part V for more information.”

“The Organization's Board of Directors, or a committee thereof, assumes responsibility for the oversight of the audit of its financial statements and the selection of an independent accountant.”