Arizona Local Post

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872217945
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
5209542492
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$628,601
Expenses
$716,635
Assets
$103,954
Liabilities
$2,373

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Irene C McKisson (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dianna M Nanez (Executive editor): $61,731 total reported compensation
  • Irene C McKisson (President): $59,300 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to educate and inform public discourse and civic participation in Arizona through local, independent journalism.

What it reported doing in 2025

Founded in 2021, Arizona Local Post seeks to educate and inform public discourse and civic participation in Arizona through local, independent journalism. The organization publishes the news publication in Arizona Luminaria at AZLuminaria.org. In 2025 Arizona Luminaria had 650,000 unique visitors, 10,000 email subscribers, and more than 300 members. The organization grew to ten full time journalists in 2025. Luminaria's impact is in equitable and free access to information in English and Spanish about local civic issues, which makes our communities strong by empowering all Arizonans to participate.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 66
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.3%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $712K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.