Kidstown’s financial report

Kidstown International has become a million-dollar charity.

Its revenues in 2014 were more than $1 million, up from about $835,000 in 2013, according to the oversight group Evangelical Council for Financial Responsibility.

The council recognizes Kidstown as an accredited organization with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Total administrative costs were about $81,600 in 2014, up from about $78,500 the year before. Fundraising costs topped $100,000 each year.

Charity Navigator, a charity watchdog group, does not list Kidstown because of its small financial footprint.

“What we’re doing is just a grain of sand,” said Kidstown’s executive director, Matthew Smith, a 15-year veteran.

He said 92 percent of the group’s funding comes through sponsorships — 70 percent from Washington state residents and the remainder primarily from the Midwest. Sponsorships are $456 a year, or $38 a month, per child.

The group has hired seven regional administrators, two each in Romania and Nepal, and three in India.

“We’re strictly a partner organization,” Smith said. “We provide funding and one-time needs. We don’t get involved in governance.”

The group does conduct inspections of of the orphanages, and each provides a monthly financial statement.

C.R. Roberts, staff writer

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Kidstown’s financial report."