Auricle Communications

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133649722
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jersey City, NJ, USA
Phone
2015211416
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Radio

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,272,127
Expenses
$2,881,757
Assets
$6,015,725
Liabilities
$2,722,866

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEN FREEDMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • STEVE RATHE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEN FREEDMAN (PRESIDENT): $163,944 total reported compensation
  • MICHELE COLOMER (BOARD MEMBER/ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGER): $117,561 total reported compensation
  • KELLY JONES (TREASURER/BOOKKEEPER): $106,675 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Listener-supported, non-commercial educational broadcasting of fm radio station.

What it reported doing in 2024

Operation of public non-commercial educational radio station. Programming includes pre-recorded and live music, news, public affairs, radio improvisation, educational documentaries and other.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.3%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.9%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.09; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.5%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.3% of revenue deployed · 65.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $164K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.