Trinity Foundation
Trinity Foundation is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit watchdog founded in 1972 that investigates religious fraud and televangelist abuses through original journalism, archival databases, and the Pastor Planes aircraft-tracking project, funded by individual donations and memberships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1972
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Trinity Foundation does
Trinity Foundation Inc. is a Dallas, Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1972 that operates as a religious-fraud watchdog and investigative journalism outlet. Originally established as a Christ-centered communications nonprofit, the foundation pivoted in 1987 to full-time monitoring of religious programming after supplying testimony to congressional hearings about the religious TV industry. Its core offerings consist of original investigative articles published on trinityfi.org, the Pastor Planes project (daily tracking of privately-owned aircraft used by churches, ministries, and Christian universities), the Governance Project database (church board structure documentation), the File Vault (curated government reports, court filings, televangelist mailings and financial documents), and the tfibiblestudies.com archive of founder Ole Anthony's Bible studies from 1985–2019.
The foundation's primary stakeholders are individual donors and members (minimum $25/year membership) plus media organizations that consume its investigations as source material. It maintains a documented working relationship with the US Senate Finance Committee (2005–2011) and provides regular testimony to state and federal agencies. Revenue is generated entirely through donations accepted via PayPal, Givebutter, Zelle, and mail, with Form 990 filings available on its website for transparency. It has no parent company, no venture or institutional funding, and operates from a single Dallas headquarters with a small board-led leadership structure (President Pete Evans, Vice-President Glenn Evans, Secretary/Treasurer Mike Renfro, and four directors).
Notable collaborations include investigative reporting with ABC News (Prime Time Live), CBS News (60 Minutes), NBC News (Dateline), CNN Special Reports, HBO (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — over 35.5 million views), Inside Edition, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Dallas Morning News. The organization is governed by an independent board and is not a technology company — its assets are human-led investigative output, archival content, and unique observational datasets (Pastor Planes tracking, Governance Project) rather than software or AI products.
Trinity Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Trinity Foundation
- Legal name
- Trinity Foundation Inc.
- Website
- https://trinityfi.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1972
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Trinity Foundation is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit watchdog founded in 1972 that investigates religious fraud and televangelist abuses through original journalism, archival databases, and the Pastor Planes aircraft-tracking project, funded by individual donations and memberships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Trinity Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Investigative Journalism / Religious Watchdog Services
- NAICS
- Religious Organizations (8131)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Faith-Based Media, Publishing & Broadcasting (Radio, TV, Digital, Press) (BPAGAJAI)
Keywords
Where Trinity Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Trinity Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Membership: Trinity Foundation generates revenue through donations and membership fees. Membership requires a contribution of at least $25 per year and provides voting rights at annual membership meetings and periodic newsletters.
- Donation Processing: Accepts donations through multiple channels: mail-in checks, Givebutter (credit card with optional recurring payments), PayPal (one-time and recurring), and Zelle. No third-party collection fees for Zelle donations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Membership donation |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Hourly investigation donation |
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Trinity Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Trinity Foundation is a nonprofit watchdog organization that conducts investigative journalism on religious fraud and televangelist abuses, monitors religious programming, publishes original investigative articles, and maintains documentation databases (File Vault, Pastor Planes, Governance Project). It also provides testimony to congressional and regulatory bodies and supports whistleblowers and victims of religious fraud.
Product overview
Trinity Foundation is a nonprofit religious fraud monitoring organization, not a commercial technology product company. It offers investigative journalism, informational databases, and educational resources about religious fraud. The organization's offerings consist of its main website for publishing investigations, the Pastor Planes project for tracking private aircraft usage, the Governance Project database documenting church governance trends, the File Vault document collection, and the tfibiblestudies.com Bible study archive. These are informational and investigative services, not commercial software products or technology platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ole Anthony's Bible Studies: Bible studies archive hosted at tfibiblestudies.com containing studies from 1985-1998 and morning meeting Bible studies from 2002 through 2019.
- Pastor Planes Project
- Governance Project
Products and services
- Trinity Foundation Website
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 35.5 million views for HBO Last Week Tonight segment on televangelists
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Trinity Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Trinity Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Trinity Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ABC NewscoreWorked with ABC News Prime Time Live on investigative reporting about religious fraud and televangelist abuses.
- CBS NewscoreCollaborated with CBS News 60 Minutes on investigative exposés of religious fraud.
- NBC NewscoreWorked with NBC News Dateline on investigative reporting about televangelist fraud.
- CNNcoreCollaborated with CNN Special Reports on religious fraud investigations.
- HBO / Last Week Tonight with John OlivercoreFeatured investigations in the 2018 HBO segment on televangelists which has received over 35.5 million views.
- Inside EditioncoreConducted multiple exposés about televangelists and their private jets. Assisted reporter Lisa Guerrero with interviews including Kenneth Copeland in 2019 and Marcus Lamb in 2020.
- US Senate Finance CommitteecoreWorked closely with the committee from 2005 through 2011 on their investigation of religious non-profit organization abuses. The committee sent letters to six ministries in November 2007 seeking to determine if they were abusing their non-profit tax status.
- Various State and Federal AgenciesminorRegularly provided testimony and investigative reports to various state and federal agencies.
- Check My ChurchminorReferenced resource for checking if a church, ministry or non-profit organization is legitimate.
- Ministry WatchminorReferenced resource for researching religious ministries.
- Personal Freedom OutreachminorReferenced resource for researching cults and controversial religious organizations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Trinity Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- ProPublica: Major nonprofit investigative-journalism newsroom; not religious-focused but operates on a similar nonprofit, donor-supported model and represents the structural archetype for high-impact nonprofit investigative work.
- Christianity Today:
Direct peers
- Spiritual Abuse Resources: Online resource hub and advocacy community for survivors of spiritual and religious abuse, providing education, recovery content, and reporting pathways; closely adjacent to Trinity's whistleblower/victim support function.
- Ministry Watch: Independent nonprofit that researches and rates the financial transparency and effectiveness of Christian ministries, churches, and Christian-owned businesses; one of the few organizations operating in the same religious-accountability niche as Trinity Foundation and even listed as a Trinity partner resource.
- The Roys Report: Investigative journalism platform run by Julie Roys focused on exposing abuse, fraud, and doctrinal issues in churches and Christian organizations; competes directly for the same audience and donor base seeking religious accountability content.
- The Wartburg Watch: Long-running blog/watchdog that documents spiritual abuse, cult activity, and controversies within evangelical and charismatic Christianity; covers the same televangelist and church-governance territory as Trinity Foundation from a more grassroots publishing angle.
Broad incumbents
- Religion News Service: Major secular news wire covering religion globally, including investigative pieces on televangelism and religious non-profits; broader remit than Trinity but a frequent outlet/partner for stories Trinity surfaces.
- Candid (formerly GuideStar): Nonprofit information aggregator publishing IRS Form 990 data and nonprofit profiles, including religious organizations; a broader transparency incumbent whose data products overlap with Trinity's Governance Project.
- Charity Navigator: Large-scale nonprofit evaluator rating financial health, accountability, and transparency of charities including religious organizations; not investigative but competes for the same donor/transparency audience.
Emerging players
- ChurchToo: Movement and resource site built by survivors of church abuse to crowdsource stories and advocate for accountability; narrower, survivor-driven scope but overlapping mission in exposing religious institutional misconduct.
Market position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Trinity Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceTrinity Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Trinity Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Trinity Foundation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Trinity Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Trinity Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Trinity Foundation
What does Trinity Foundation do?
Trinity Foundation is a nonprofit watchdog organization that conducts investigative journalism on religious fraud and televangelist abuses, monitors religious programming, publishes original investigative articles, and maintains documentation databases (File Vault, Pastor Planes, Governance Project). It also provides testimony to congressional and regulatory bodies and supports whistleblowers and victims of religious fraud.
Is Trinity Foundation a public or private company?
Trinity Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Trinity Foundation founded?
Trinity Foundation was founded in 1972. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Trinity Foundation based?
Trinity Foundation is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Trinity Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Membership is the primary driver. The others are donation Processing.
Who are Trinity Foundation's main competitors?
Others on record are ProPublica and Christianity Today. Direct peers are Spiritual Abuse Resources, Ministry Watch, The Roys Report and The Wartburg Watch. Broad incumbents are Religion News Service, Candid (formerly GuideStar) and Charity Navigator. ChurchToo is listed as an emerging player.
Does Trinity Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Trinity Foundation.
What industry is Trinity Foundation in?
Trinity Foundation's product category is Investigative Journalism / Religious Watchdog Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAI, Faith-Based Media, Publishing & Broadcasting (Radio, TV, Digital, Press). Its NAICS code is 8131.