Alpha International
Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
The mission of the organization is to equip and serve the church in its mission to help people discover and develop a relationship with Jesus. The global team works with different regions to grow Alpha in their context, train leaders, support hub churches and translate resources.
- Income
- $26.6 million
- Spending
- $23.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 86%
- Reserves
- 1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 95%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 28
- Highest pay
- $211,829, chief digital officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 75 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (religion, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 11% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 11% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1586% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 73 out of 100. Higher than 18% of charities in its peer group (religion, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (7)
- $8.8 million spent. Digital, Media, Product, and Publications: In collaboration with Alpha International USA IP, LLC. ('AIUSA'), we launched a new Alpha product: The Alpha Youth Series ('AYS 3.0') in November 2024. - We invested in product globalization and contextualization, which enabled a coordinated global release of AYS 3.0 with eight subtitled languages, and more translations due to be released in 2025 and beyond. - Pre-production for the next Alpha Film Series ('AFS 2.0') re-commenced. - 2024 was the first full year of the newly branded 'Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel' ('BNAP'); there has been continued engagement with the content on the BNAP app and the web page. - A global guest stories campaign was launched, profiling transformational stories from around the world. Many NAOs have used this global campaign, with local adaptations. - Significant digital advances have been made both with a successful pilot of the new Alpha App and further investment into the 'Theory of Change' project, which will allow the organization to become more data driven. In 2024, the global marketing team launched a brand-new guest campaign to tell the stories of lives changed by Jesus, through Alpha, to the world. The campaign tells 'real stories of real people who were curious about faith, bringing to life eleven stories from all around the world. (Expenses $ 2,019,225 including grants of $)(Revenue $ 1,190,619) Conferences: Alpha International hosted the Leadership Conference 2024 ('LC24') at the Royal Albert Hall, with many joining from around the world and many participating online through LC On Demand. During the week of LC24, we hosted an event called 'The Open Generation' for strategic church leaders and youth leaders from across the world. (Expenses $ 1,388,566 including grants of $ 1,551) UK Development: The team works across the UK to equip and support churches to be able to run Alpha in their local church, parish, youth groups, and prisons. There is also the publishing of the materials used to run Alpha and supporting local churches in the marketing and advertising of Alpha courses. In June, we were invited to have a prominent presence at the DR Catholic Parish Summit. The Summit was designed to catalyze a decade of transformation in the Catholic Church in the UK, bringing together leaders, parishes, movements, and communities to inspire and equip them in parish renewal. Alpha contributed in various ways, including hosting a pre-event entitled Engaging the Emerging Generation: Equipping Young People for Parish Renewal. Alpha testimonies and stories of parishes transformed by Alpha and DR were shared from the main stage throughout the conference, showing the impact of the work of Alpha UK over the last decade and the partnership with DR in the UK. (Expenses $ 555,432 including grants of $ 49,287) Alpha Context Development: 2024 was another amazing year for Alpha Youth as it continued to grow all around the world. In 2024, there were over 29,000 Alpha Youth courses, with over 744,000 guests, a 10% growth from 2023. On top of this encouraging growth, we were thrilled to launch the new Alpha Youth Series on 14th November in 8 languages. Together with regional and national teams, we were successfully able to host 37 different launch events all over the world, in places such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, London, and Amsterdam. This was a monumental achievement that has taken years of work by our global team in collaboration with regional and national teams and has already been received so positively by local churches all over the world. In 2024, over 6,300 churches, schools and organizations and over 325,000 participants explored faith, life and meaning through Alpha in the Catholic Context. This represented a growth of 21% in Churches, organizations and schools and a growth of 15% in guests. Catholic churches represented 19% of engaged churches globally. Catholic context courses run in a Youth or Young Adult context represented 47% of the total number, which is above the global average of 37%, highlighting the opportunity and impact of Alpha Youth in the Catholic Context in engaging the emerging generations. (Expenses $ 145,223 including grants of $) Other Ministries: The Marriage Course (TMC) and The Pre-Marriage Course (TPMC) have impacted millions of couples positively worldwide. In 2024, our focus was on improving digital accessibility, supporting church leader marriages, exploring evangelistic opportunities for TPMC, and enhancing marketing and content.
- $4.5 million spent. International Development: - Over the past year, Alpha International has completed two months of prayer globally, where the global organization (i.e., Alpha International and the network of NAOs) has joined together in corporate prayer under the banner of 'fan the flame'. - In 2024, 2,166,715 participants attended an Alpha Course. 81,629 courses were run from 43,117 churches, organizations, and individuals, across 146 countries. - In 2024, we concluded the pilot stage of our long-term initiative to measure the effectiveness of the Alpha course, receiving responses from over 1,500 guests across nearly 20 countries. The results were very encouraging. From our target population - people who have not yet discovered or developed a relationship with Jesus - 86% of guests report growth in their engagement in faith during the Alpha course, and over half of these guests describe themselves as positively engaged with the beliefs, practices, and experiences of the Christian faith by the end of the course.
- $2.7 million spent. Strategic Leadership and Enablement: Within the context of our overall vision, we launched Alpha's 2033 vision to our staff team, donors, and churches. Alpha International's vision is for everyone, everywhere to have the opportunity to explore faith through Alpha by 2033. As we look forward to the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection, we hope to make exploring faith in Jesus as accessible as possible, so that millions more might encounter the love of God. The CEF team continue to support and share learnings with regions and national offices, so they are equipped and innovating in their contexts to serve the church well in the context of our 2033 global vision. In 2024, the Global Governance team facilitated the Country Governance Requirements review of National Alpha Offices in which NAO leadership and boards conducted self-assessments of the effectiveness of NAO governance, with support from regional leadership. (Expenses $ 2,019,225 including grants of $)(Revenue $ 1,190,619) Conferences: Alpha International hosted the Leadership Conference 2024 ('LC24') at the Royal Albert Hall, with many joining from around the world and many participating online through LC On Demand. During the week of LC24, we hosted an event called 'The Open Generation' for strategic church leaders and youth leaders from across the world. (Expenses $ 1,388,566 including grants of $ 1,551) UK Development: The team works across the UK to equip and support churches to be able to run Alpha in their local church, parish, youth groups, and prisons. There is also the publishing of the materials used to run Alpha and supporting local churches in the marketing and advertising of Alpha courses. In June, we were invited to have a prominent presence at the DR Catholic Parish Summit. The Summit was designed to catalyze a decade of transformation in the Catholic Church in the UK, bringing together leaders, parishes, movements, and communities to inspire and equip them in parish renewal. Alpha contributed in various ways, including hosting a pre-event entitled Engaging the Emerging Generation: Equipping Young People for Parish Renewal. Alpha testimonies and stories of parishes transformed by Alpha and DR were shared from the main stage throughout the conference, showing the impact of the work of Alpha UK over the last decade and the partnership with DR in the UK. (Expenses $ 555,432 including grants of $ 49,287) Alpha Context Development: 2024 was another amazing year for Alpha Youth as it continued to grow all around the world. In 2024, there were over 29,000 Alpha Youth courses, with over 744,000 guests, a 10% growth from 2023. On top of this encouraging growth, we were thrilled to launch the new Alpha Youth Series on 14th November in 8 languages. Together with regional and national teams, we were successfully able to host 37 different launch events all over the world, in places such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, London, and Amsterdam. This was a monumental achievement that has taken years of work by our global team in collaboration with regional and national teams and has already been received so positively by local churches all over the world. In 2024, over 6,300 churches, schools and organizations and over 325,000 participants explored faith, life and meaning through Alpha in the Catholic Context. This represented a growth of 21% in Churches, organizations and schools and a growth of 15% in guests. Catholic churches represented 19% of engaged churches globally. Catholic context courses run in a Youth or Young Adult context represented 47% of the total number, which is above the global average of 37%, highlighting the opportunity and impact of Alpha Youth in the Catholic Context in engaging the emerging generations. (Expenses $ 145,223 including grants of $) Other Ministries: The Marriage Course (TMC) and The Pre-Marriage Course (TPMC) have impacted millions of couples positively worldwide. In 2024, our focus was on improving digital accessibility, supporting church leader marriages, exploring evangelistic opportunities for TPMC, and enhancing marketing and content.
- $2.0 million spent. Conferences: Alpha International hosted the Leadership Conference 2024 ('LC24') at the Royal Albert Hall, with many joining from around the world and many participating online through LC On Demand. During the week of LC24, we hosted an event called 'The Open Generation' for strategic church leaders and youth leaders from across the world.
- $1.4 million spent. UK Development: The team works across the UK to equip and support churches to be able to run Alpha in their local church, parish, youth groups, and prisons. There is also the publishing of the materials used to run Alpha and supporting local churches in the marketing and advertising of Alpha courses. In June, we were invited to have a prominent presence at the DR Catholic Parish Summit. The Summit was designed to catalyze a decade of transformation in the Catholic Church in the UK, bringing together leaders, parishes, movements, and communities to inspire and equip them in parish renewal. Alpha contributed in various ways, including hosting a pre-event entitled Engaging the Emerging Generation: Equipping Young People for Parish Renewal. Alpha testimonies and stories of parishes transformed by Alpha and DR were shared from the main stage throughout the conference, showing the impact of the work of Alpha UK over the last decade and the partnership with DR in the UK.
- $555,432 spent. Alpha Context Development: 2024 was another amazing year for Alpha Youth as it continued to grow all around the world. In 2024, there were over 29,000 Alpha Youth courses, with over 744,000 guests, a 10% growth from 2023. On top of this encouraging growth, we were thrilled to launch the new Alpha Youth Series on 14th November in 8 languages. Together with regional and national teams, we were successfully able to host 37 different launch events all over the world, in places such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, London, and Amsterdam. This was a monumental achievement that has taken years of work by our global team in collaboration with regional and national teams and has already been received so positively by local churches all over the world. In 2024, over 6,300 churches, schools and organizations and over 325,000 participants explored faith, life and meaning through Alpha in the Catholic Context. This represented a growth of 21% in Churches, organizations and schools and a growth of 15% in guests. Catholic churches represented 19% of engaged churches globally. Catholic context courses run in a Youth or Young Adult context represented 47% of the total number, which is above the global average of 37%, highlighting the opportunity and impact of Alpha Youth in the Catholic Context in engaging the emerging generations.
- $145,223 spent. Other Ministries: The Marriage Course (TMC) and The Pre-Marriage Course (TPMC) have impacted millions of couples positively worldwide. In 2024, our focus was on improving digital accessibility, supporting church leader marriages, exploring evangelistic opportunities for TPMC, and enhancing marketing and content.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
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.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2021 for not filing returns for three years, and reinstated on December 15, 2021.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.
The IRS master file records contributions to this 501(c)(3) charitable organization as not deductible.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2022.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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.