GOLD2023

BIBLES FOR AMERICA

A Bible You Can Understand

aka Bibles for America   |   Irvine, CA   |  https://biblesforamerica.org/

Mission

Bibles for America's mission is to give away free Bibles and a selection of free Christian books within the United States and US territories. Through these free materials and Bible-related online content, we want to help people know God and understand the Bible in a deeper way. Our free materials are currently available in English and Spanish.

Ruling year info

2001

General Manager and Board Vice President

Anthony Barba

Main address

PO Box 17537

Irvine, CA 92623 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

33-0912609

NTEE code info

Christian (X20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Register now

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Bibles for America (BfA) is aware of the ever-growing need for spiritual guidance among the people of this country. We daily hear from people who are seeking for answers to fundamental questions about the meaning of life, how to know God, and how to understand the Bible. They primarily want to obtain a free Bible, but also desire to read free Christian books and access online content such as blog posts, videos, and podcasts to help them understand the Bible and progress in their Christian experience.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Free Bibles and books

Bibles for America (BfA) provides free copies of the New Testament Recovery Version and books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in English and Spanish to people living in the US. Free digital e-books in English and Spanish are available online for download to people everywhere. Since 2000, we have given away nearly 1.9 million Bibles and 3.1 million Christian books. BfA also offers free downloadable e-books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee to anyone who visits our website. More than 380,000 digital books have been downloaded since we began to offer them in 2017.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

The Bibles for America Blog, in English and Spanish, provides fundamental biblical truths and practical help for Christian living to people all over the world. Our is read by people all over the world with 4.7 million pageviews within the last year and more than 55,000 subscribers.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

Bibles for America (BfA) podcasts offer readings of selected BfA blog posts. Since 2016 over 500,000 podcasts have been downloaded by people in the US and throughout the world.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

Bibles for America is responding to the public’s growing demand for video content by continuing to produce videos, both to spread the good news of the gospel and to convey the truths in the Bible. Videos have proven to be a critical means of reaching people in an impactful way, especially since the start of the pandemic in 2020. BfA videos were viewed on YouTube 2.7 million times in 2020, up from 854,000 views in 2019. Our videos can be found on our website and on the BfA YouTube channel, including our most recent gospel video titled Why Do I Feel Empty?

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

Bibles for America (BfA) staff join local volunteers to distribute Bibles, Christian books, gospel tracts, and Bible-offer brochures on college campuses, in parks, at fairs, festivals, and shopping areas. BfA also supports Bible and book distribution events carried out by volunteers in cities all throughout the US by supplying distribution materials, guidelines, and instructions.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

Bibles for America (BfA) promotes the New Testament Recovery Version and our online resources to spiritually seeking people by posting Bible verses and study notes, videos, testimonies, photos from distribution tours, and blog posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Christians

Where we work

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our primary goal is to get free copies of the New Testament Recovery Version into the hands of anyone who resides in the U.S. To further satisfy the spiritual hunger for God's Word among our fellow citizens, we offer free digital books by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee in addition to one free book that is mailed upon request. To address many specific topics on the minds of spiritually seeking people, the Bibles for America Blog covers basic topics on reading and understanding God's Word, the Christian life, God's plan, and God's forgiveness, among others. We also offer gospel and truth videos and helpful podcast readings of selected blog posts. We recently added a Share the Gospel page with sharable gospel tracts, blog posts, videos, and a podcast, all of which address questions people have about the meaning of life, especially in these difficult times.

The free Bible and books we offer to the public can easily be ordered online as well as through our toll-free phone number. The abundance of online Bible-related content we post draws many people who want to learn about the Bible, God's plan for man, and the Christian life. We use Google ads to attract people to our site to order their free Bible. Our social media presence is growing and continues to direct many people to our website to order a Bible and books. Facebook and Instagram, in particular, have been very effective to reach out to those who are looking for biblical materials and words of truth.

In addition to our online distribution, Bibles for America (BfA) volunteers throughout the U.S. set up direct distribution tables on college campuses, at fairs, parks, shopping centers, and other community spaces to give away Bibles, books, gospel tracts, and cards that advertise a free Bible. BfA staff members occasionally join volunteers at various college campuses and community venues around the country as they distribute free Bibles and books.

Individual volunteers in every part of the country are also encouraged to give away Bible-offer cards that provide our website information and toll-free number for placing an order.

Bibles for America has a staff of 19 full-time and part-time employees to carry out its mission. Volunteers from various parts of the country provide customer service and other administrative tasks.

Bibles for America's distribution center has recently moved to a new facility and upgraded its equipment to be able to process and ship Bibles in a quicker and more efficient way. The facility is manned by both staff members as well as local volunteers. We have given away more than 1.7 Bibles since 2000, and with the help of these improvements, we expect to bring the total to 2 million Bibles by the end of 2021. A distribution center manned by volunteers in Chicago, Illinois sends individual Christian books upon request.

We raise funds primarily from individuals who have a desire to support our mission. A monthly giving program has been developed to increase the number of Bibles and books we can send out. Additionally, we receive funds from employers who match employees' gifts, from small foundations, and from Bible recipients who appreciate what we do. Additionally, we receive funds through Facebook fundraisers and from donors who give through PayPal Giving fund and Amazon Smile. We are continually expanding our fundraising efforts on several fronts in order to meet the growing demand for Bibles.

Since 2000, we have given away over 1.7 million Bibles and 3.1 million Christian books. More than 380,000 Christian e-books have been downloaded since we began to offer them in 2017.

The Bibles for America blog in English is visited by over 36,000 people per month. Our Spanish blog is visited by approximately 48,000 people per month.

BfA's gospel and truth videos have been watched, either on our website or on YouTube, over 952,700 times since we began to post videos. Our podcasts have been downloaded over 520,000 times.

We're on course for giving away 2 million Bibles by the end of 2021.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    People who would like to receive a free study Bible, those who would like help understanding the Bible, and those who have questions about God's purpose for man.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We redesigned our Bible order form to make it easier to order. We streamlined our Bible order processing and shipping to get Bibles to people faster.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

BIBLES FOR AMERICA
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

BIBLES FOR AMERICA

Board of directors
as of 02/01/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Minoru Chen

Bibles for America

Term: 2001 -

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 11/11/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data