Bent Tree Community Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581532300
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jasper, GA, USA
Phone
7708932629
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeowners & Tenants Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,973,681
Expenses
$7,734,497
Assets
$14,027,990
Liabilities
$3,098,331

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Arvin Creef (President)
  • Michael Kahn (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Thomas J Pryor (General Manager): $218,777 total reported compensation
  • John R Leach (Golf Course Superintendent): $120,179 total reported compensation
  • Melissa S Leach (Director of Finance/Admin): $119,372 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 community is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the common property within the 3,500 acres with approximately 1,100 developed residential lots located in Jasper, Georgia. The maintenance of the roads and beaches open to the public provide an essential public benefit.

What it reported doing in 2024

The community collects annual assessments from members for improved, unimproved and unbuildable lots located within the community's legal boundaries. The assessments also include capital improvements to the property, and capital maintenance and replacement for the common properties including 55 miles of road maintenance, repair and reconstruction, equipment replacement, and maintenance of building and other facilities located within the community's legal boundaries. The community provides quasi-government services by maintaining the grounds, roads, parks, and beaches, and a lake that are open to the general public. Bent Tree Community also provides public safety.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.3%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 3%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.81; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.3% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $219K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $914K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.