Spectrum Magazine

Legal name: Adventist Forum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521006614
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Roseville, CA, USA
Phone
916-774-1080
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$458,723
Expenses
$616,238
Assets
$457,112
Liabilities
$6,364

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Carmen Lau (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEXANDER CARPENTER (EXEC EDITOR): $60,100 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission: we create community, share hope, inspire action by transforming info into insight. As members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, we publish ​breaking news, investigative journalism, p​eer-reviewed scholarship, and creative spiritual expression. A board-governed nonprofit free of direct denominational influence, we are supported by individual Adventist donors and foundation grants. A media org since 1969, we fulfill our mission to transform info into insight through our award-winning publications, including: website, social media, newsletters with 4.95 million pageviews in 2024; a monthly website audience of over 100,000 readers;.

What it reported doing in 2024

Adventist forum is committed to promoting community through conversation in the seventh-day adventist church. This is accomplished through the composition, publication and distribution of the organization's major publication, spectrum magazine, and the affiliated web site, which reports on, educates regarding, and promotes the seventh-day adventist christian philosophy. This mission is achieved solely through membership donations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -34.3%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $592K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.