Quinn Clark
Every Sunday, before Heart of the Nation begins broadcasting Mass from Milwaukee's Sacred Heart Croatian Parish, a priest encourages viewers to show their support.
“The Heart of the Nation Mass is a viewer-supported ministry," says Fr. Mark Payne, as the organization's website and phone number appear onscreen. "Please consider an offering today to support the Mass on TV and online."
On its website, the ministry cites Acts 20:35, a Bible verse where Jesus says, "It is better than give to receive." The site tells supporters that the organization "depends on donations and the generosity of hundreds of volunteers."
Ways to give range from online donations to gifts of property. The donation form starts with a default suggestion of $25 and climbs up to $1,000.
But after viewer Mike Guillory, 79, viewed the nonprofit's IRS filings, he asked Public Investigator why Heart of Nation continues to ask for money.
According to its 2023 tax filing, the Milwaukee-based ministry received over $16.4 million in contributions and spent just $6.2 million. The rest was saved, growing the nonprofit's assets by $10 million.
Its total assets now amount to $39.5 million — enough to fund its current operations for more than six years.
"I have a distrust of what is actually going on," Guillory said. "What is actually happening to all the surplus money?"
Heart of the Nation's executive director, Bruno John, told Public Investigator that ongoing donations are necessary to sustain and expand the ministry.
The media ministry owned by Santa Fe Communications began broadcasting Mass on a single channel in 1984. Today, it's based in Milwaukee and airs across the country to people who are home-bound or incarcerated.
The ministry's conservative spending is meant to ensure Heart of the Nation stays afloat after having experienced financial troubles in the past, John said.
Accounting and ethics experts, however, say nonprofits should be transparent about their finances so donors have the full picture.
"It's not necessarily a red flag just to build up a reserve like that," said Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University and expert in nonprofit finances. "The red lights come when there's a disconnect between the way the organization is raising funds and the way it's spending funds."
Public Investigator compared Heart of the Nation's financial records to three other major religious media ministries — New Evangelization Ministries, CatholicTV, and Shalom World. None stockpiled as much of their donation revenue as Heart of the Nation.
For example, while CatholicTV ended the year with $75 million in assets, it spent 66% of its revenue on programming and operations. In contrast, Heart of the Nation spent 38%, saving the rest.
Executive director says COVID, past financial troubles explain $40M reserve
John, the executive director, said the surplus of funds is a recent development due to the COVID-19, which prevented millions from attending in-person services. As a result, Heart of the Nation's viewership and donations increased.
"At the same time, we increased our outreach and expanded the reach of our TV Mass, growing our operating budget to $6.5 million to support these efforts," John said.
Expecting donations would decline once viewers could return to in-person services, John said the organization built a reserve. But John said that decline didn't happen.
"Fortunately, the people that have hung in there and continue to support us have allowed the support to remain steady for the last couple of years," he said.
According to John, the organization almost shut down in 1992 and 2017 after funding troubles, forcing it to broadcast Mass on fewer channels. That was "a painful experience" for viewers who had come to rely on the service, John said.
He added that Heart of the Nation is a "lean" organization without development staff or administrative assistants, so most of its spending goes toward programming.
The nonprofit's IRS filings confirm that most of its revenue goes to programming expenses, not staff. John is listed as the only paid employee in Heart of the Nation's IRS filings. His salary was $152,391 in 2023.
John said excess funds are "strategically set aside in a board-directed endowment," designed to protect the ministry from future downturns.
Ministry should disclose financial position and future plans, experts say
According to Mittendorf, there's nothing wrong with nonprofits spending frugally as long as they provide clarity on how and when the reserves will be used.
Heart of the Nation's fundraising appeals do not mention its strong financial position or its timeline for spending donations.
"Just perpetually accumulating the resources, even if the intent isn't bad, at some point, will backfire," Mittendorf said. "Because donors will say, 'I put my trust in you, and you just didn't spend the resources I gave.'"
John said Heart of the Nation plans to expand by creating a new prayer ministry department, evaluating additional outreach opportunities, and strengthening its organizational infrastructure.
"These planned expansions will naturally increase future operating costs," John said.
But John also said the organization doesn't set specific fundraising targets.
"It's not like we plan this out, like, 'Oh, OK, we have to raise this amount of money this year,'" he said. "We just put the message out there … and then see what happens."
That approach, Mittendorf said, may require greater oversight.
"When your budget gets in that multimillion-dollar size, you need additional layers of control just to make sure that you can provide assurances to the public," Mittendorf said.
Experts recommend getting involved before donating
Jonathan Boulos, an accounting professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in nonprofit financial management and law, said it's normal for donors to feel misled if fundraising messages don't match how money is spent.
"No one would bat an eye if their message was congruent with their budget, but it's the combination that creates a feeling of relative deprivation between (donors') expectations and reality," Boulos said.
For accounting purposes, nonprofits must list building costs or other capital projects as assets instead of expenses. That can sometimes make them look like they are stockpiling reserves, even if they are not, Boulos noted.
However, in this case, Heart of the Nation says its reserves are held in an endowment, not currently being spent on renovations or capital projects.
Sites like Charity Navigator can be helpful when deciding whether to support a nonprofit, Boulos said. Heart of the Nation has a 97% score from Charity Navigator based on its financial practices and accountability, earning the group the maximum four-star rating.
Still, Boulos's advice is this: Don't just rely on government filings. Instead, get involved with a nonprofit before donating by volunteering, joining a committee or asking questions.
"If the organization cannot or will not take your time and talents, you might have all of the information you need," Boulos said.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
The swine Catholics are money hungry beyond belief. The stiolen art and treasures in the Vatican total BILLIONS of dollars, yet the Catholic Church continues to plead poverty and extort more money from their poorest congregants. FUCK the Catholic Crime Church!
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