JOIN US MAY 20-21 FOR RESTORE CONFERENCE

Mary
DeMuth

Scot
McKnight

Screenshot 2023-01-13 at 1.50.18 PM

Naghmeh
Panahi

Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.

Zacharias Family Members Using Ravi’s Platform to Raise Money for New NonProfit

By Julie Roys
Ravi Zacharias Third Ladder
The family of Ravi Zacharias is using a 2020 post on Ravi's Facebook page decrying slavery to promote a new nonprofit led by Naomi Zacharias. (Source: Facebook)

Confident that Ravi Zacharias’ “legacy will be restored,” some Zacharias family members are using the late apologist’s social media platform to raise money for a new nonprofit led by Ravi’s daughter, Naomi Zacharias.

For many years, Naomi led Wellspring International, the humanitarian arm of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).

Naomi Zacharias Third Ladder
Naomi Zacharias

However, in the wake of revelations of her father’s sexual abuse of women, RZIM closed Wellspring last March and ended Naomi’s position.

In a March 2021 Instagram post about her departure, Naomi complained of “cancel culture” and wrote, “Perhaps one day I will look back at this unanticipated turn . . . & see a faint trace of wings shaped not in spite of but through it.” 

Now, Naomi’s brother, Nathan Zacharias, has announced in a blog post the launch of Third Ladder, a new nonprofit led by Naomi. In the post, Nathan states he believes “one day my Dad’s actual legacy will be restored” and also tells of a $60,000 matching grant for donations to Third Ladder and encourages people to give.

Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Even If He Doesn’t: What We Believe about God When Life Doesn’t Make Sense” by Kristen LaValley. To donate, click here.

In addition, Ravi’s official Facebook page, which is managed by the Zacharias family, posted a link to Nathan’s blog article in the comment thread for a February 2020 post by Ravi decrying modern-day slavery. “The importance of helping those in need was always close to my Dad’s heart,” the page stated.

The comment about Third Ladder received 1.6K likes and many positive responses, like ones encouraging Nathan Zacharias to “Keep it up” and expressing belief in Ravi Zacharias’ innocence.

Third Ladder

But the comment also received strong condemnation, especially from those who saw irony in praising Ravi on the thread of an anti-slavery post.

“This is digusting,” wrote someone named Morrison Amber. “(Y)ou can’t say that you fight against slavery while trafficking women.”

Another wrote, “but he used his humanitarian aid to support his mistress in Thailand…” (To read the full report on the findings of an independent investigation into Ravi Zacharias’ sexual abuse and misuse of funds, click here.)

According to Nathan’s blog article, Third Ladder will support some of the same causes that Wellspring used to support and “hopefully find additional ones.”

At its website, Third Ladder promises that 75-percent of each gift given will go to “project grants and unique due diligence services” and only 25-percent will go to start-up and operating costs.

To date, however, Third Ladder has raised approximately $167,334, according to its homepage. Of that amount, $143,000, or 85-percent, has been designated for operational expenses and only $24,333, or 15-percent, has been designated for specific projects.

According to the state of Georgia, Third Ladder was incorporated on May 19, 2021—about a month after Wellspring closed. Third Ladder’s articles of incorporation do not mention Naomi Zacharias, but instead name Mallory Even as CEO of the organization.

Even is a music therapist who ran a program, called Songs of Hope, which was funded entirely by Wellspring International. Songs of Hope suspended its services soon after Wellspring closed but encouraged donors to contact Even to find out “how to give a tax-deductible donation to one of our partner organizations who will ensure your donation goes to Songs of Hope . . .”

Mallory Even is now listed as President of the Board of Third Ladder.

The Roys Report reached out to Even and Third Ladder, asking if Songs of Hope is receiving funds from Third Ladder, but no one immediately responded. IRS rules prohibit members of nonprofit boards from benefitting personally from their service on the board.

The Roys Report also asked Even and Third Ladder for clarity about Naomi Zacharias’ role with Third Ladder, but did not receive a response.

SHARE THIS:

GET EMAIL UPDATES!

Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox!

Don’t worry we won’t spam you.

More to explore
discussion

24 Responses

  1. Talk about being unable to accept reality! The legacy of Ravi Zacharias is one of extreme sexual predation, manipulation and betrayal. They need to acknowledge it, make whatever amends they can and fade into the sunset quietly. In my opinion, anyone who supports them is participating in their grand delusion.

  2. They epitomize the term “having no shame” for using Ravi’s words when he was trafficking women, when they were already making lots of money and they continue to make money for themselves, while telling people that most of the money will go towards ministry projects and “unique due diligence” services (like their own pocketbooks????)

  3. How much denial can they be in to use Ravi’s words about human slavery after he participated in in trafficking women? How much arrogance, lack of Godly repentance and self-righteousness are they exhibiting?

  4. The primary purpose of far too many non profit organizations seems to be to provide jobs for those running the organization. While I would like to be wrong I have little doubt that is the case here.

  5. “Naomi Zacharias and RZIM make the great whore of Babylon look as innocent as Mother Theresa. Ah, but I understate . . .”

    Stop! Just stop! Unless this is a 4chan message board, where users can say any filthy little thing they want to say, you are out of line with that comment. Your irrational hyperbole is crass, misogynistic, hurtful, sexist, outdated – but I understate. I shouldn’t need to remind you that you’re talking about real people. Do you really think you’ll bring clarity to the situation by slinging mud around?

    If you have something to add to the conversation, then do it. Root it in substance but for the sake of everyone, please refrain from making baseless, emotionally based insults, dressed in a pseudo-religious tone. Just stop. I know you can be better than that.

    Life goes on. People are trying to get up and move forward. When people are trying to recover, get up, and do what is right, what kind of person are you: the person who who kicks them down when they’re trying to get up, or the kind of person that helps them up? You do you, but I’d encourage you to imitate Christ on this one.

  6. Exactly. MZ has been a very busy woman. Oh. We were supposed to forget about her. The FAMILY continues…knowing how to take money. This has been in planning for, let’s see; since the day you knew the gig was up with RZ. CARRY ON RZIM2.0

  7. Absolutely no shame! What’s his legacy? It’s been tarnished by his bring a sexual predator. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me! Donors beware!

  8. When I saw this post yesterday all I could do was sit in silence and shock for a good long while. The denial within the Zecharias family is beyond what I can wrap my mind around. Oh, my heart for his victims. All a post like this can do is make us cry out in a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long…”? Revelation 6:10

    1. Thank you for putting into words my same experience…..stunned silence . !!!!Took my breath away to read of the family’s insensitivity, massive empathetic failures and emotional naivete to the needs of others.. Perhaps this is another reason why the family did not see or address the signs Ravi was putting out to the world. The family has no apparent schema for understanding what it means to be a victim of someone’s cruelty and being used or taken advantage of. They have profound human mental and emotional limitations. I expected a higher standard from the entire Zacharias family and RZIM.

  9. Using a predator’s image for anything promotional is an insult to victims everywhere. Such tragic irony.

  10. The outcome at RZIM was not accidental. It was the logical, predictable product of the corporate governance system out of which it was produced. Corporate governance failed.

    After the issues at RZIM became public, I sent a request for documentation to four faith based charities I supported at the time. An excerpt:

    ……….Given my financial and personal support of xxxxxxxxx, I am requesting a copy of your internal controls and/or corporate compliance program. I’m looking for the documented processes upon which you depend for preventing, detecting, investigating, correcting, and reporting manipulative or adversely compromising relational dynamics between corporate personnel and/or between corporate personnel and clients, donors, contractors, non-corporate associates, etc.

    Two organizations sent what I asked for and invited further questions. The other two did not send me what I requested, nor did they provide reasons for the absence of response. In one case I was praised for my interest in “such an important issue”. In the other case my question was recast into a question they obviously preferred to the one I asked. Not good enough. I ceased donations to both organizations the same day I received those responses.

    I got stung in the RZIM event partially because I didn’t do my due diligence regarding governance protocols. Never again. There will never be a guarantee I’ll always get it right but I’ll do all I can to increase the odds of getting it right. If I sense the slightest hesitation or resistance at being asked very specific, legitimate questions about corporate governance, or if I sense being the recipient of “smoke and mirrors” answers, or if my non-theological question is answered with scripture or a narrative appealing to our purported theological affinity, I’m out the door……a door which swings both ways.

    1. Actions like this give me hope. Thank you, Frederic, for doing your due diligence. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

      1. Thank you, JR!! To expand a little..my education on how charities avoid the issue began when one of the charities that did not send what I requested, did cite over 50 scripture references to support their case. (that’s not a typo…>50). Alternatively, in the organizations that did respond, I have developed strong personal relationships with key players who want me to know what they do and why they do it. One in particular has become my benchmark standard for evaluating all others. These folks get it and its innate. Its not an affectation developed in order to impress people. Every donor will have their own standards, but my education has been significantly advanced simply by beginning. In the process, much of what I have learned has been learned from folks who do it right for their own reasons. If it ever were to sound to me like yet another marketing campaign, I’m gone. To repeat an earlier observation, I’ll can’t guarantee getting it right every time, but as I learn, I can increase the odds of getting it right. Begin!

    2. Thanks for sharing your thoughtful and rational way to investigate fiscal responsibility in ministries. I feel empowered to do likewise now that I have a structure under which to approach them . Well done.

      1. Thank you, Donna Kaufman. While fiscal issues are always on the table, I also want to know about power dynamics between leaders and subordinates. It is for that reason I came up with the idea of adverse compromise.The person on the least influential side of a relationship consisting of power differentials will perhaps feel compelled to compromise on something/anything if the cost of not compromising is too high. We see all the time in the issues Julie Roys calls out that folks don’t stand up, don’t object, don’t protest because of the cost of doing so. That’s not hard to understand. Almost everyone has been in that position at some point in life. The immediate cost of pushing back can be too high for financial, relational, cultural, community reasons, etc. So nothing is said. The way I see it, any time there are financial, operational, regulatory, spiritual, sexual, relational (you name it) irregularities or abuse and someone decides not to speak out, an adverse compromise has been made. Nobody wins except the perpetrator or the person with the most power. This is all easy to say, but very difficult to do. I’ll never call this easy nor will I ever critique the one who decides they can’t afford to speak. I’m not in their world. But, I can ask questions of the organizations that are in a position to prevent this from happening in the first place.

  11. Thank you, Julie Roys, for continuing to follow RZIM, especially because so many others have not done so. Your reporting is of a quality that is neither approached nor duplicated by other news sources. (I don’t even read the stories by other writers here.) It is not surprising that an account should surface like Mr. Larsen’s, of careful, informed questions and truth-seeking. His story is a worthwhile example for us all to follow.

  12. Look, the kids were all doing God’s work. They wish to continue under new organizations. Why paint them with the same brush. They didn’t have any idea. Also, we never stop sinning as long as we breathe. We are simultaneously saint and sinner. Ravi , on his sainted side did 40+ years of the Lord’s work. Let those without sin cast the first stone. Also, these are alleged accusations anyway.

    1. Ravi did 40+ years of the devils work. He was a liar, molester, pervert, rapist, narcissist, con man, and unfaithful to his wife & family who were complicit to his sins. He taught them how to receive money and live well doing it. They continue on….his well taught FAMILY.

  13. Interesting to read or should I say appalling how some so called Christians, like hyenas, almost with a ghoulish glee, are tearing into a dead man’s body. That’s more demonic than anything that has ever happened. Such ghoulish demons existed in Jesus times. Jesus confronted them, “he that hath no sin cast your first stone” And the hungry pack left at the stern voice of Jesus. And Jesus turns his attention to the whore not with ghoulish glee (he could have) but with compassion…

  14. We were supported by the humanitarian arm of RZIM, Wellspring International. And were devastated at the news as well as the sudden loss of funding to serve sexually exploited women and their children. Naomi, as I understand, is not seeking to profit from her father’s mistakes, but rather continue with her own commitment to serve the most vulnerable, as well as make right the damage caused by one person’s actions. The fall-out of one man’s sin is staggering and the most vulnerable always suffer the most. I am grateful to Third Ladder for the support they provide, despite the many challenges they have faced along the way.

Leave a Reply

The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Toward that end, the site requires that people register before they begin commenting. This means no anonymous comments will be allowed. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted.
 
MOST RECENT Articles
MOST popular articles
en_USEnglish

Donate

Hi. We see this is the third article this month you’ve found worth reading. Great! Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church?

Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “The Atlas Factor: Shifting Leadership Onto the Shoulders of Jesus” by Lance Ford.