Contact: Rich Vermillion, 866-705-6048; KennethCopelandBlog.com
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- Things are looking really 'insecure' at the high-security compound of televangelist Kenneth Copeland. Although Kenneth Copeland Ministries' (KCM) gas well revenues are much higher, they are now scrambling to recruit donors. Why?
Kenneth Copeland boasted on January 23rd, 2008 that he is personally a billionaire. He continued, "Now don't tell them senators about this...the last accounting of it, this has been two, three years ago...there would probably be at least another $150 million added to this, because our income last year [2007] was over $100 million...there has been over $1.3 billion come into this ministry." That totals $1.45 billion by 2007.
However, shortly after the Senate Finance Committee investigation and U.S. economic recession began, Kenneth Copeland started sending his children, grandchildren, and in-laws out to churches and conference around the country to rally support for KCM. Are donations down now?
Even if they are, Kenneth Copeland repeatedly stated in recent years that if ALL their donors abandoned them at once, "God" told him that "nothing" would happen because they were financially self-sufficient. But if that is true...then why is the billionaire "Godfather of Prosperity" looking desperate for cash now?
Then KennethCopelandBlog.com began to publicize and document some of the probable frauds committed by KCM in early 2010. Almost immediately, there was a significant increase in Copeland family appearances on Christian television shows; and new "Behind the Mission" donor recruitment conferences were scheduled in cities around the United States. It would seem that panic was driving their expanded itinerary.
And in the now-occurring 2010 Southwest Believer's "Homecoming" Convention, they have taken the unusual step of moving their Friday morning donor recruitment service into the evening time slot. (This happens to be the most well-attended service.) They have also significantly increased the number of sessions that are being simulcast worldwide on Daystar Television from one to a whopping four.
Why such changes? Gas well revenue has been climbing rapidly (kennethcopelandblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Copeland_Gas_Wells.pdf). KCM has also added two more wells since 2007, and now total thirty-two.
Again, Copeland says he's a financially "self-sufficient" billionaire. Why does he need anyone to give his 'ministry' a dime, even if his donations ARE down? One possibility is...
The IRS states, "All IRS section 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches and religious organizations, must abide by certain rules." One rule that the IRS is very active in enforcing among all non-religious tax-exempt groups is the "public support test." An organization must prove that at least one-third of their total revenues qualify as donations.
KCM's reporting requirements are different. However, if this rule still applies to them nonetheless, then gas revenues would obviously not meet that qualification. Neither would the revenues from the Copeland Cattle Company, and their MANY other business incomes that fuel the billionaire's $100 million budget.
So is THIS the reason why KCM seems so desperate for cash? Are they teetering on the edge of failing to meet this test? Are they afraid that another "whistle blower" might alert the IRS that they are not in compliance?
If Kenneth Copeland Ministries loses its tax-exempt status, their "church" status evaporates with it. Then Senator Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee would not need Senate subpoenas -- they could just walk in and open KCM's books.
Given the probable frauds and improprieties that KennethCopelandBlog.com has already documented -- and the many other things that we plan to publish soon -- KCM surely has a lot to hide from the IRS (and the Christian public). Is that why they are in such a panic for donor cash now?
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