Scientology's secular fronts: aggregate summaries

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When looking at the big picture regarding the finances of Scientology's secular fronts, there are oddities which are possibly worth investigating.

Here is a single example of what I mean: from 2003 to 2005, Narconon International reports that there was an increase of about 9% in the aggregate number of drug users graduating on its rehabilitation program (2003: 1375, 2005: 1500). However, the aggregate program revenue of all Narconon centers (for which we have data) grew at a rate of close to 75%. Similarly, aggregate program expenses also grew around 75%. There are other such oddities throughout Scientology's secular fronts, like sudden peak in a particular expenditure item which doesn't exists in previous or subsequent years. As a future project, I plan to collect and document these oddities as time permit.

Figures for 2007 are being currently gathered (990 filings become available over the next months.) Also, I am still waiting for a few missing 2006 990 filings. Number of employees was taken as reported from line 90b of the Form 990 filings.

All “secular” Scientology-linked entities
Association for Better Living and Education International
Narconon-related entities
Applied Scholastics-related entities
Criminon-related entities
The Way To Happiness Foundation-related entities
All other “secular” Scientology-linked entities

All
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	33	58	63	57	56	48	39	35	26	8
Number of employees	985	1,136	946	918	1,010	837	729	649	468	145

Contributions	15,818,277	11,534,345	14,406,263	10,205,078	22,477,847	9,743,311	18,208,855	21,729,577	7,125,802	8,274,856
Program revenue	74,649,489	80,191,244	73,859,315	58,249,477	48,001,707	40,588,681	31,730,084	27,126,758	21,179,056	4,852,441
Total revenue	93,242,289	94,902,952	90,838,489	70,703,840	73,099,172	52,559,609	50,844,050	50,656,410	29,543,334	13,838,267

Grants	3,624,150	2,021,660	3,141,440	2,727,968	30,693,753	1,178,962	1,472,039	3,139,148	739,944	346,695
Program expenses	68,931,663	72,513,558	63,275,104	51,150,638	45,137,999	38,109,215	31,603,647	28,018,321	21,983,276	8,628,138
Management expenses	8,946,252	11,018,750	9,992,338	9,318,835	8,238,849	6,112,782	4,798,521	4,052,985	3,994,447	1,853,722
Fundraising expenses	1,411,924	1,652,859	1,774,397	1,398,070	1,443,294	1,016,114	1,244,734	806,955	853,688	833,161
Total expenses	88,779,829	92,332,558	83,995,561	67,417,047	87,374,608	48,127,959	40,248,298	37,018,803	28,077,814	12,159,853

Net excess (deficit)	4,462,459	2,570,391	6,842,928	3,286,793	-14,275,436	4,533,711	10,607,973	13,635,609	1,471,675	1,678,414
Other changes in net assets	-328,781	-494,404	581,301	-685,841	381,877	-540,214	-138,945	-103,539	-284,052	-4
Total net excess (deficit)	4,133,678	2,075,987	7,424,229	2,600,952	-13,893,559	3,993,497	10,469,028	13,532,070	1,187,623	1,678,410
Total net assets	48,048,651	43,321,041	43,467,227	35,915,809	34,768,269	48,751,372	43,523,353	32,577,106	15,245,851	5,764,808

Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) Association for Better Living and Education International
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of employees	37	33	62	70	57	57	54	49		34

Contributions	357,807	681,639	1,238,070	1,092,424	12,110,103	2,861,315	8,810,915	7,627,893		1,039,906
Program revenue	2,713,748	2,483,065	2,272,533	1,849,464	1,579,503	1,237,968	1,050,782	908,953		741,536
Total revenue	3,780,773	3,689,976	3,939,194	3,281,698	14,202,502	5,037,297	10,159,708	8,760,036		1,859,483

Grants	194,000	100,342	181,956	248,130	26,137,550	130,841	202,356	24,898		149,134
Program expenses	1,889,274	2,118,113	2,233,111	2,029,107	2,988,706	2,228,250	1,663,262	1,431,139		826,051
Management expenses	306,280	388,189	397,376	413,600	361,670	377,461	390,257	400,305		282,148
Fundraising expenses	31,647	32,422	51,162	35,767	41,747	37,389	73,890	76,393		140,564
Total expenses	2,421,201	2,639,066	2,907,990	2,726,604	29,529,673	2,773,941	2,329,765	1,932,735		1,397,897

Net excess (deficit)	1,359,572	1,050,910	1,031,204	555,094	-15,327,171	2,263,356	7,829,943	6,827,301		461,586
Other changes in net assets				21	21		21
Total net excess (deficit)	1,359,572	1,050,910	1,031,204	555,115	-15,327,150	2,263,356	7,829,964	6,827,301		461,586
Total net assets	9,308,775	7,949,201	6,898,291	5,863,531	5,308,416	20,635,566	18,372,210	10,542,246		2,601,284

Narconon Included entities:
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	13	14	16	14	15	9	9	6	4	1
Number of employees	438	549	367	306	321	234	161	64	74	50

Contributions	2,767,754	1,731,272	1,644,829	885,799	956,322	840,335	1,685,217	2,237,092	1,055,262	1,396,628
Program revenue	44,001,498	48,841,978	44,260,863	30,539,428	23,416,155	17,575,159	12,440,559	7,976,806	5,186,883	2,581,757
Total revenue	47,396,091	51,274,377	46,507,356	31,988,644	24,720,057	18,657,279	14,091,053	10,358,541	6,304,582	4,014,763

Grants	2,174,852	481,589	903,974	471,599	248,514	253,370	287,835	2,048,602	164,950	186,115
Program expenses	32,933,359	36,880,256	31,242,636	21,765,843	16,745,050	12,366,784	9,141,196	6,060,468	4,301,946	2,254,426
Management expenses	5,361,156	6,869,353	5,974,714	5,042,719	4,060,655	2,456,982	1,828,975	1,034,986	966,840	519,068
Fundraising expenses	260,101	402,533	350,550	325,231	524,035	182,910	532,616	110,680	359,967	114,711
Total expenses	45,818,951	48,967,729	43,157,786	29,948,015	23,409,122	16,820,058	12,966,263	9,766,170	5,930,584	3,169,880

Net excess (deficit)	1,577,140	2,306,648	3,349,570	2,040,629	1,310,935	1,837,221	1,124,790	592,371	373,998	844,883
Other changes in net assets		-480,049	895,955	-835,269	2	16,692	2,501	-126,460
Total net excess (deficit)	1,577,140	1,826,599	4,245,525	1,205,360	1,310,937	1,853,913	1,127,291	465,911	373,998	844,883
Total net assets	14,153,033	12,701,032	10,684,351	6,347,295	6,890,355	5,562,036	3,707,760	2,561,424	2,089,563	1,636,023

Applied Scholastics International Included entities:
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	11	28	31	30	29	28	21	21	15	1
Number of employees	422	471	454	480	585	507	467	493	370	26

Contributions	1,987,748	2,665,485	4,391,306	2,679,948	4,228,966	2,680,341	2,663,480	4,131,367	1,631,315	21,195
Program revenue	25,712,403	27,814,577	26,811,935	24,885,795	22,478,361	21,670,359	18,132,269	18,178,511	15,961,595	1,476,915
Total revenue	28,807,091	31,694,139	32,272,648	28,362,731	27,940,344	24,836,634	21,303,912	23,143,134	18,217,088	1,517,166

Grants	986,731	1,074,018	1,291,164	748,705	375,707	478,355	920,902	907,974	569,724	6,446
Program expenses	24,033,812	26,726,003	25,203,319	23,304,275	22,300,532	20,720,095	17,342,157	16,513,927	13,489,499	725,459
Management expenses	1,903,652	2,448,691	2,491,103	2,629,692	2,851,088	2,512,339	1,919,001	2,015,086	2,364,530	266,572
Fundraising expenses	115,646	258,069	202,176	249,996	294,292	247,406	217,816	221,549	116,035	124,879
Total expenses	27,798,077	31,281,133	30,251,592	27,381,617	25,851,462	24,160,981	20,405,010	20,209,536	16,943,576	1,515,886

Net excess (deficit)	1,009,014	413,006	2,021,056	981,114	2,088,882	789,329	898,902	2,933,596	1,273,512	1,280
Other changes in net assets	-323,847	-46,620	-213,842	149,411	381,854	-556,907	-141,466	22,921	-284,058
Total net excess (deficit)	685,167	366,386	1,807,214	1,130,525	2,470,736	232,422	757,436	2,956,517	989,454	1,280
Total net assets	22,299,115	21,172,783	23,139,423	21,177,330	19,792,718	17,426,366	15,862,774	15,598,571	12,560,117	759,639

Criminon International Included entities:
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	2	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
Number of employees	1	2	1	1		1	2

Contributions	174,444	1,045,359	383,270	477,974	368,605	309,465	177,866	135,853	29,095
Program revenue	40,529	242,406	21,461	728,329	411,547	1,854	6,276	467
Total revenue	224,962	1,307,082	408,753	1,200,105	780,303	311,906	186,394	136,659	29,095

Grants	40,448	118,153	11,700	200				1,000
Program expenses	121,886	1,035,135	385,971	815,587	431,803	53,493	93,907	47,622	29,240
Management expenses	33,737	356,446	146,877	323,962	252,861	198,830	33,625	30,648
Fundraising expenses	11,820	181,965	23,576	56,407	48,996	130,548	22,889	3,650
Total expenses	226,012	1,709,080	584,301	1,215,080	733,660	382,871	150,421	82,920	29,240

Net excess (deficit)	-1,050	-401,998	-175,548	-14,975	46,643	-70,965	35,973	53,739	-145
Other changes in net assets		39,459
Total net excess (deficit)	-1,050	-362,539	-175,548	-14,975	46,643	-70,965	35,973	53,739	-145
Total net assets	-11,529	-659,016	-221,555	-46,007	-31,032	-78,264	89,712	53,739	3,944

The Way To Happiness Foundation Included entities:
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Number of employees	14	16	16	16	8	7	11	8	6	11

Contributions	2,641,390	737,298	769,288	504,331	1,379,094	598,333	724,748	596,807	528,774	464,550
Program revenue	128,495	118,292	80,901	41,158	32,118	20,551	40,519	25,471	19,107
Total revenue	2,885,852	1,092,299	1,058,727	794,348	1,633,462	808,535	780,002	641,671	569,139	470,954

Grants	24,019	103,071	87,134	30,667	18,787	18,023	4,575	2,174	3,270
Program expenses	2,353,544	847,517	732,695	637,900	489,180	663,544	627,755	511,352	396,752	255,007
Management expenses	148,937	228,637	190,800	206,946	131,520	97,354	72,092	69,060	87,382	109,853
Fundraising expenses	29,803	98,011	65,160	74,360	68,228	51,121	88,677	96,100	76,784	102,870
Total expenses	2,556,303	1,277,236	1,075,789	949,873	707,717	830,042	793,099	678,686	564,188	477,777

Net excess (deficit)	329,549	-184,937	-17,062	-155,525	925,745	-21,507	-13,097	-37,015	4,951	-6,823
Other changes in net assets	-4,934			-3
Total net excess (deficit)	324,615	-184,937	-17,062	-155,528	925,745	-21,507	-13,097	-37,015	4,951	-6,823
Total net assets	1,006,516	547,061	731,998	749,060	904,588	-21,157	350	13,447	50,462	45,511

All others Included entities:
	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
Number of entities	5	10	10	7	6	6	5	4	4	3
Number of employees	73	65	46	45	39	31	34	35	18	24

Contributions	7,889,134	4,673,292	5,979,500	4,564,602	3,434,757	2,453,522	4,146,629	7,000,565	3,881,356	5,352,577
Program revenue	2,052,816	690,926	411,622	205,303	84,023	82,790	59,679	36,550	11,471	52,233
Total revenue	10,147,520	5,845,079	6,651,811	5,076,314	3,822,504	2,907,958	4,322,981	7,616,369	4,423,430	5,975,901

Grants	204,100	144,487	665,512	1,228,667	3,913,195	298,373	56,371	154,500	2,000	5,000
Program expenses	7,599,788	4,906,534	3,477,372	2,597,926	2,182,728	2,077,049	2,735,370	3,453,813	3,765,839	4,567,195
Management expenses	1,192,490	727,434	791,468	701,916	581,055	469,816	554,571	502,900	575,695	676,081
Fundraising expenses	962,907	679,859	1,081,773	656,309	465,996	366,740	308,846	298,583	300,902	350,137
Total expenses	9,959,285	6,458,314	6,018,103	5,195,858	7,142,974	3,160,066	3,603,740	4,348,756	4,610,226	5,598,413

Net excess (deficit)	188,234	-613,238	633,708	-119,544	-3,320,470	-263,723	731,462	3,265,617	-180,641	377,488
Other changes in net assets		-7,194	-100,812	-1		1	-1		6	-4
Total net excess (deficit)	188,234	-620,432	532,896	-119,545	-3,320,470	-263,722	731,461	3,265,617	-180,635	377,484
Total net assets	1,292,741	1,609,980	2,234,719	1,824,600	1,903,224	5,226,825	5,490,547	3,807,679	541,765	722,351

Notes

Remember that often what is reported as Revenue in one Scientology secular entity is actually part of the Total expenses figure in another Scientology entity.

An example of that: in 2005, ABLE declared revenue of $2,049,334 as "Payments from affiliates," which become part of Program revenue in the summaries, while this was reported as "Payments to affiliates" on the other side of the transaction, which become part of the Total expenses item in the summaries.

Because of this, the item Total net excess (deficit) in the top table is the most interesting since it combines all these revenue and expenses and thus cancels these "insider" transactions. What is left is the flow of funds between the Scientology secular fronts and the "outside world." (Keep in mind that "Outside world" doesn't imply "not Scientology," as it is often found that Scientology organizations contract with Scientology-linked businesses.) Many fronts still need to be added, but the most important ones are there.

To see the list of Scientology entities for which the 990 filings were included in these summaries, see: Scientology's secular fronts: 990 filings used.

Scientology Critical Information Directory

Scientology's secular fronts: aggregate summaries

All

Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE)

Narconon

Applied Scholastics International

Criminon International

The Way To Happiness Foundation

All others

Notes