diff --git a/lib/code_corps/github/event.ex b/lib/code_corps/github/event.ex
index b950f4c18..2732b2bef 100644
--- a/lib/code_corps/github/event.ex
+++ b/lib/code_corps/github/event.ex
@@ -15,7 +15,11 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event do
   are already being processed.
   """
   @spec start_processing(GithubEvent.t) :: {:ok, GithubEvent.t}
-  def start_processing(%GithubEvent{} = event), do: event |> set_status("processing")
+  def start_processing(%GithubEvent{} = event) do
+    event
+    |> Changeset.change(%{status: "processing"})
+    |> Repo.update()
+  end
 
   @doc ~S"""
   Sets record status to "processed" or "errored" based on the first element of
@@ -24,16 +28,16 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event do
   the tuple is suported.
   """
   @spec stop_processing(tuple, GithubEvent.t) :: {:ok, GithubEvent.t}
-  def stop_processing(result, %GithubEvent{} = event) when is_tuple(result) do
-    result |> Tuple.to_list |> do_stop_processing(event)
+  def stop_processing({:ok, _data}, %GithubEvent{} = event) do
+    event
+    |> Changeset.change(%{status: "processed"})
+    |> Repo.update()
   end
+  def stop_processing({:error, reason}, %GithubEvent{} = event) do
+    changes = %{status: "errored", failure_reason: reason |> Atom.to_string}
 
-  @spec do_stop_processing(list, GithubEvent.t) :: {:ok, GithubEvent.t}
-  defp do_stop_processing([:ok | _data], %GithubEvent{} = event), do: event |> set_status("processed")
-  defp do_stop_processing([:error | _reason], %GithubEvent{} = event), do: event |> set_status("errored")
-
-  @spec set_status(GithubEvent.t, String.t) :: {:ok, GithubEvent.t}
-  defp set_status(%GithubEvent{} = event, status) when status in ~w(processing processed errored) do
-    event |> Changeset.change(%{status: status}) |> Repo.update()
+    event
+    |> Changeset.change(changes)
+    |> Repo.update()
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos.ex b/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos.ex
index 5b337fa81..0e96a76e4 100644
--- a/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos.ex
+++ b/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos.ex
@@ -25,11 +25,13 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.Installation.Repos do
   """
   @spec process_async(GithubAppInstallation.t) :: {:ok, GithubAppInstallation.t, Task.t}
   def process_async(%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation) do
-    {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = processing_installation} = installation |> set_state("processing")
+    {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = updated_installation} =
+      installation |> set_state("processing")
 
-    task = Task.Supervisor.async(:background_processor, fn -> processing_installation |> process() end)
+    repo_processing_task = Task.Supervisor.async(
+      :background_processor, fn -> updated_installation |> process() end)
 
-    {:ok, processing_installation, task}
+    {:ok, {updated_installation, repo_processing_task}}
   end
 
   @doc ~S"""
@@ -58,7 +60,9 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.Installation.Repos do
   end
 
   @spec set_state(GithubAppInstallation.t, String.t) :: {:ok, GithubAppInstallation.t}
-  defp set_state(%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, state) when state in ~w(processing processed errored) do
+  defp set_state(%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, state)
+    when state in ~w(processing processed errored) do
+
     installation
     |> Changeset.change(%{state: state})
     |> Repo.update
diff --git a/lib/code_corps/model/github_event.ex b/lib/code_corps/model/github_event.ex
index 9e05e2eb2..201008544 100644
--- a/lib/code_corps/model/github_event.ex
+++ b/lib/code_corps/model/github_event.ex
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GithubEvent do
     field :payload, :map
     field :status, :string
     field :type, :string
+    field :failure_reason, :string
 
     timestamps()
   end
diff --git a/priv/repo/migrations/20170926134646_add_failure_reason_to_github_events.exs b/priv/repo/migrations/20170926134646_add_failure_reason_to_github_events.exs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a880e47b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/priv/repo/migrations/20170926134646_add_failure_reason_to_github_events.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+defmodule CodeCorps.Repo.Migrations.AddFailureReasonToGithubEvents do
+  use Ecto.Migration
+
+  def change do
+    alter table(:github_events) do
+      add :failure_reason, :string
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/priv/repo/structure.sql b/priv/repo/structure.sql
index 47d0e41dc..2ac0c9b5d 100644
--- a/priv/repo/structure.sql
+++ b/priv/repo/structure.sql
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 -- PostgreSQL database dump
 --
 
--- Dumped from database version 9.5.1
--- Dumped by pg_dump version 9.5.1
+-- Dumped from database version 9.5.4
+-- Dumped by pg_dump version 9.5.4
 
 SET statement_timeout = 0;
 SET lock_timeout = 0;
@@ -239,7 +239,8 @@ CREATE TABLE github_events (
     type character varying(255),
     inserted_at timestamp without time zone NOT NULL,
     updated_at timestamp without time zone NOT NULL,
-    payload jsonb
+    payload jsonb,
+    failure_reason character varying(255)
 );
 
 
@@ -3034,5 +3035,5 @@ ALTER TABLE ONLY user_tasks
 -- PostgreSQL database dump complete
 --
 
-INSERT INTO "schema_migrations" (version) VALUES (20160723215749), (20160804000000), (20160804001111), (20160805132301), (20160805203929), (20160808143454), (20160809214736), (20160810124357), (20160815125009), (20160815143002), (20160816020347), (20160816034021), (20160817220118), (20160818000944), (20160818132546), (20160820113856), (20160820164905), (20160822002438), (20160822004056), (20160822011624), (20160822020401), (20160822044612), (20160830081224), (20160830224802), (20160911233738), (20160912002705), (20160912145957), (20160918003206), (20160928232404), (20161003185918), (20161019090945), (20161019110737), (20161020144622), (20161021131026), (20161031001615), (20161121005339), (20161121014050), (20161121043941), (20161121045709), (20161122015942), (20161123081114), (20161123150943), (20161124085742), (20161125200620), (20161126045705), (20161127054559), (20161205024856), (20161207112519), (20161209192504), (20161212005641), (20161214005935), (20161215052051), (20161216051447), (20161218005913), (20161219160401), (20161219163909), (20161220141753), (20161221085759), (20161226213600), (20161231063614), (20170102130055), (20170102181053), (20170104113708), (20170104212623), (20170104235423), (20170106013143), (20170115035159), (20170115230549), (20170121014100), (20170131234029), (20170201014901), (20170201025454), (20170201035458), (20170201183258), (20170220032224), (20170224233516), (20170226050552), (20170228085250), (20170308214128), (20170308220713), (20170308222552), (20170313130611), (20170318032449), (20170318082740), (20170324194827), (20170424215355), (20170501225441), (20170505224222), (20170526095401), (20170602000208), (20170622205732), (20170626231059), (20170628092119), (20170628213609), (20170629183404), (20170630140136), (20170706132431), (20170707213648), (20170711122252), (20170717092127), (20170725060612), (20170727052644), (20170731130121), (20170814131722), (20170913114958), (20170921014405), (20170925214512), (20170925230419);
+INSERT INTO "schema_migrations" (version) VALUES (20160723215749), (20160804000000), (20160804001111), (20160805132301), (20160805203929), (20160808143454), (20160809214736), (20160810124357), (20160815125009), (20160815143002), (20160816020347), (20160816034021), (20160817220118), (20160818000944), (20160818132546), (20160820113856), (20160820164905), (20160822002438), (20160822004056), (20160822011624), (20160822020401), (20160822044612), (20160830081224), (20160830224802), (20160911233738), (20160912002705), (20160912145957), (20160918003206), (20160928232404), (20161003185918), (20161019090945), (20161019110737), (20161020144622), (20161021131026), (20161031001615), (20161121005339), (20161121014050), (20161121043941), (20161121045709), (20161122015942), (20161123081114), (20161123150943), (20161124085742), (20161125200620), (20161126045705), (20161127054559), (20161205024856), (20161207112519), (20161209192504), (20161212005641), (20161214005935), (20161215052051), (20161216051447), (20161218005913), (20161219160401), (20161219163909), (20161220141753), (20161221085759), (20161226213600), (20161231063614), (20170102130055), (20170102181053), (20170104113708), (20170104212623), (20170104235423), (20170106013143), (20170115035159), (20170115230549), (20170121014100), (20170131234029), (20170201014901), (20170201025454), (20170201035458), (20170201183258), (20170220032224), (20170224233516), (20170226050552), (20170228085250), (20170308214128), (20170308220713), (20170308222552), (20170313130611), (20170318032449), (20170318082740), (20170324194827), (20170424215355), (20170501225441), (20170505224222), (20170526095401), (20170602000208), (20170622205732), (20170626231059), (20170628092119), (20170628213609), (20170629183404), (20170630140136), (20170706132431), (20170707213648), (20170711122252), (20170717092127), (20170725060612), (20170727052644), (20170731130121), (20170814131722), (20170913114958), (20170921014405), (20170925214512), (20170925230419), (20170926134646);
 
diff --git a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos_test.exs b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos_test.exs
index 08efe0c04..76716168c 100644
--- a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos_test.exs
+++ b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation/repos_test.exs
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.Installation.ReposTest do
       unmatched_repo = insert(:github_repo, github_app_installation: installation)
       _matched_repo = insert(:github_repo, matched_repo_attrs |> Map.put(:github_app_installation, installation))
 
-      {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{state: intermediate_state}, task} =
+      {:ok, {%GithubAppInstallation{state: intermediate_state}, task}} =
         installation
         |> Repo.preload(:github_repos)
         |> Repos.process_async()
diff --git a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation_test.exs b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation_test.exs
index e249d8fcd..8b3c39ff2 100644
--- a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation_test.exs
+++ b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event/installation_test.exs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.InstallationTest do
       payload = %{"installation" => %{"id" => installation_github_id}} = @installation_created
       event = build(:github_event, action: "created", type: "installation")
 
-      {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}
+      {:ok, {%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}}
         = Installation.handle(event, payload)
 
       assert installation.github_id == installation_github_id
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.InstallationTest do
 
       user = insert(:user, github_id: user_github_id)
 
-      {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}
+      {:ok, {%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}}
         = Installation.handle(event, payload)
 
       assert installation.github_id == (payload |> get_in(["installation", "id"]))
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.InstallationTest do
         github_id: nil
       )
 
-      {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}
+      {:ok, {%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}}
         = Installation.handle(event, payload)
 
       assert installation.origin == "codecorps"
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.Event.InstallationTest do
       insert(:github_app_installation, github_id: installation_github_id)
       event = build(:github_event, action: "created", type: "installation")
 
-      {:ok, %GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}
+      {:ok, {%GithubAppInstallation{} = installation, %Task{} = task}}
         = Installation.handle(event, payload)
 
       assert installation.origin == "codecorps"
diff --git a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event_test.exs b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event_test.exs
index 1d5f2d0de..135397207 100644
--- a/test/lib/code_corps/github/event_test.exs
+++ b/test/lib/code_corps/github/event_test.exs
@@ -16,22 +16,18 @@ defmodule CodeCorps.GitHub.EventTest do
     end
   end
 
-  defp get_resulting_status(tuple) do
-    event = insert(:github_event, status: "processing")
-    {:ok, %GithubEvent{} = updated_event} = Event.stop_processing(tuple, event)
-    updated_event.status
-  end
-
   describe "stop_processing/2" do
-    test "sets proper status for event, based on first argument" do
-      assert {:ok} |> get_resulting_status() == "processed"
-      assert {:ok, "foo"} |> get_resulting_status() == "processed"
-      assert {:ok, "foo", "bar"} |> get_resulting_status() == "processed"
-      assert {:ok, "foo", "bar", "baz"} |> get_resulting_status() == "processed"
-      assert {:error} |> get_resulting_status() == "errored"
-      assert {:error, "foo"} |> get_resulting_status() == "errored"
-      assert {:error, "foo", "bar"} |> get_resulting_status() == "errored"
-      assert {:error, "foo", "bar", "baz"} |> get_resulting_status() == "errored"
+    test "sets event as processed if resulting tuple starts with :ok" do
+      event = insert(:github_event, status: "processing")
+      {:ok, %GithubEvent{} = updated_event} = Event.stop_processing({:ok, "foo"}, event)
+      assert updated_event.status == "processed"
+    end
+
+    test "marks event errored, with failure_reason, if resulting tuple starts with :error" do
+      event = insert(:github_event, status: "processing")
+      {:ok, %GithubEvent{} = updated_event} = Event.stop_processing({:error, :bar}, event)
+      assert updated_event.status == "errored"
+      assert updated_event.failure_reason == "bar"
     end
   end
 end