Beacon Media Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 834587205
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Kansas City, MO, USA
- Phone
- 9136451983
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Media, Communications Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,771,520
- Expenses
- $1,554,664
- Assets
- $647,343
- Liabilities
- $78,714
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEPHANIE CAMPBELL (CEO)
- BRITTANY BARRIENTOS (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- STEPHANIE CAMPBELL (CEO): $166,952 total reported compensation
- SCOTT CANON (KEY EMPLOYEE): $136,986 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 beacon cultivates engaged and informed communities through accessible reporting and active community engagement on crucial local subjects, anchored by a sustainable nonprofit revenue model.
What it reported doing in 2024
The beacon news delivers in-depth and free journalism on critical sectors such as government, education, health, labor, and housing across Missouri and Kansas. Operating through bureaus in Kansas city, wichita, topeka, and jefferson city, and in collaboration with other media organizations, we ensure accountability and transparency in governance, enhance public knowledge on health and education, and address economic stability through our labor and housing coverage. Our reporting empowers communities with reliable information essential for democratic participation and improving quality of life.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 95% 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
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: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 55.5%; rating input score 56
- Program expense ratio: 63.3%; rating input score 63
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 55.5% of revenue deployed · 63.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $984K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
- 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 56/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.