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Friendship House of Christian Services

EIN 81-0300497 · Billings, MT

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

TO REFLCT THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST BY FOSTERING RENEWAL, STABILITY, AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN SOUTHSIDE BILLINGS.

Income
$1.9 million
Spending
$1.6 million
Spent on programs
76%
Reserves
14 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 59%
Employees
33
Volunteers
250

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (religion, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 14.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 6% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 17% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 10% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    76% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 24 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 85% of charities in its peer group (religion, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    11 of 11 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (1)
  1. $1.2 million spent. FOSTERING RENEWAL, STABILITY, AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, AND PROVIDING PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES TO EMPOWER YOUTH AND FAMILIESFriendship House of Christian Service was started by a coalition of downtown Billings'churches in 1957 to provide essential services to the impoverished andunder-resourced children and families living on Billings' south side. Over the years ,the mission of Friendship House has remained constant: "Reflecting the Love of Jesus Christ to foster renewal, stability and transformation in the lives of children and families in South Billings." Our overarching goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty through education, investment and access to essential services. We seek to provide holistic community development and build leaders through serving at-risk and low-income children and families. Because our goal requires tremendous buy-in from our enrollees, we strive to develop long lasting friendship with children and families we serve through compassion, care and accountability . By offering services for ages 4-104 since 1957, we truly have become the foundation that allows our clients to grow into successful leaders.The five core programs we use to achieve this goal include our: Preschool- f or 4-5year old children, Youth-Afterschool/Summer Enrichment Programs for K-6th gradestudents, Teen- Programming for 13-19 year olds including open gym and Cafe',Parent/Caregiver/Adult Support Programming- educational classes, and Counseling- for all age levels, individuals and families . Because of the tremendous support of our donors, grantors, contractors and endowment, we have found tremendous success in working to increase school readiness by 100% in Preschoolers, K-6th grade student academic test scores have increased 17%, student social growth has improved 10%,student emotional growth increased 13%, parental support classes have educated over 300 this year, access to food resources has grown by 10%, neighborhood teen social and emotional support rose by 100% and we provided over 1,000 hours of counseling this year.We are not a franchise of a national organization; rather we are a homegrownBillings, Montana community response to meeting our community's deepest needs. We have a local board of directors from the various sectors of the Billings community and maintain local control of our work. We do not proselytize, rather we share God's love through acts of service that earn us the right to invest in lives challenged bypoverty and brokenness. While we are a part of several local, statewide, nationwideand worldwide affinity groups that support and encourage our work to theunder-resourced, we are independent and can serve where our community has the mostimmediate need. We have the support of more than 75 businesses and 40 churches andmore than 25 partner agencies that encourage our work with contributions, volunteersand donations. We are truly making great strides in developing our community,building leaders and are meeting and exceeding our goals.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since July 2014.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.