Washington · Nonprofit
THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $704,022 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($290,843). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 89% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $4.1M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $704k
- Net assets
- $3.8M
What The Firs Bible & Missionary Conference does
Mission
Equipping young people to share the love of jesus and radically transform the world.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Founded in 1921 and located near lake whatcom, the firs retreat center is an ideal spot for family, adult and youth retreats. Recreational activities include a seasonal waterfront; full meal service; total capacity is 260. During 2024, the retreat center was utilized for 6,523 camper days.
$710,707 spentof which $445 as grants$554,961 earned by the program20% of program spendingLocated on the shores of lake whatcom, camp firwood offers: rustic cabins, incredible scenery and a wide variety of land and water based activities. Seasonal (may through september) retreats up to 250; full meal service in our spacious centerhouse. Recreational activities include a challenge course, climbing center, paintball, sports field and numerous water activities. During 2024, camp firwood was utilized for 8,501 camper days.
$1,180,021 spentof which $44,238 as grants$777,475 earned by the program33% of program spendingAfter school adventure (asa) is a program, serving students in the bellingham school district (k-fifth graders) during non-school hours. Each year, the asa program centers around a major theme, creating a backdrop of fun and adventure. Fall 2019 saw the addition of the firs & fiddleheads forest school (outdoor pre-school). During 2024, the asa program recorded 4,840 camper days.
$772,293 spentof which $18,095 as grants$762,958 earned by the program21% of program spendingThe firs chalet is a four story, 100 bed, fully contained retreat facility adjacent to the mt. Baker ski area and approximately 54 miles from bellingham. The facility, situated in a beautiful alpine setting, offers spectacular scenery and provides a setting for youth retreats as well as a variety of adult and family retreats. Recreational activities include seasonal snow sports; full meal service. During 2024, the firs chalet was utilized for 3,791 camper days.
$313,124 spentof which $390 as grants$315,076 earned by the program9% of program spendingFircreek day camp provides a non-stop week of great adventure for children entering grades 1-6. From sports and games, swimming and boating, to creative crafts, singing, and all manner of silliness, summer weeks are packed with welcome for campers. Even field trips are offered for 4th-6th graders. During 2024, fircreek day camp recorded 2,098 camper days.
$493,581 spentof which $28,635 as grants$406,711 earned by the program14% of program spendingThe firs discipleship program, radicle and rooted, offers young adults aged 18-24 the opportunity to develop a radically rooted faith built on the truths found in scripture through the convergence of formal post-secondary education, intentional discipleship, and practical ministry experiences. Graduates of the one year radicle program have the opportunity to earn up to 30 college credits and a ministry certificate. Radicle graduates will have the option to attend our 2nd year rooted program. During the rooted year, students will deepen their education and spiritual journey while exploring a field of interest. They can continue the biblical studies program to earn a two-year aa degree from anchor christian university, or they may choose to study subjects such as hospitality and culinary arts, forest school education, outdoor education, or worship training, among others.
$125,346 spentof which $10,800 as grants$22,320 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,595,072.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $5.2M to $5.8M (+12%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 19%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
24% of THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (90% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kelly Ellis
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018, and between the FY2020 and FY2021, and between the FY2023 and FY2024 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $9k → $21k.
8 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 89% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 86%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
97% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 60% · 2019 54% · 2020 61% · 2021 65% · 2022 69% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
22% of THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
89% of THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $76k that is directly attributable, 77% of it comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $629k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE's revenue grew 26% between 2017 and 2024.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,394 religion nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
83%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Firs Fellowship of British Columbia · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE?
- THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $704,022 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($290,843). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 89% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $704,022 in grants to THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $290,843 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE FIRS BIBLE & MISSIONARY CONFERENCE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Firs Bible & Missionary Conference →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 12 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing