Baton Rouge Area Chamber

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
720126959
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Phone
2253817125
Rating confidence
Limited
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,808,562
Expenses
$5,997,883
Assets
$5,598,946
Liabilities
$11,228,924

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

Leadership & pay

67 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANN TRAPPEY (INTERIM CEO)
  • LORI MELANCON (PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • MICHAEL DIRESTO (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RUSSELL RICHARDSON (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT)
  • ANDREW FITZGERALD (SR. VICE PRESIDENT-BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE)
  • EMILIA P HENRY (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF INVESTOR DEVELOPMENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RUSSELL RICHARDSON (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT): $260,524 total reported compensation
  • LORI MELANCON (PRESIDENT/CEO): $244,212 total reported compensation
  • BRACE GODFREY (SR VP OF POLICY): $195,502 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the chamber is to provide leadership for the advancement of economic vitality and quality of life for its members and the total community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Brac led initiatives to improve our strategic competitiveness as a region. The organization sought to preserve parent choice and increase accountability within the school system with the objective of ensuring the k-12 system prepares students to compete with the global workforce. In the area of talent, brac hosted over ninety-four executive recruitment tours.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 73.2%; rating input score 73; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -24.7%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.01; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.2%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 46 of 47 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $261K · 67 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 15 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D expense reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.