Better Business Bureau of Delaware Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

Bbb's mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. Bbb accomplishes this mission by - creating a community of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models, and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior. Bbb sees trust as a function of two primary factors - integrity and performance. Integrity includes respect, ethics and intent. Performance speaks to a business's track record of delivering results in accordance with bbb standards and/or addressing customer concerns in a timely, satisfactory manner. Bbb ensures that high standards for trust are set and maintained. Bbb exists so consumers and businesses alike have an unbiased source to guide them on matters of trust. Bbb provides educational information and expert advice that is free of charge and easily accessible. Bbb businesses meeting bbb standards are presented to local boards of directors (or designees) for review and acceptance as a bbb accredited business. All bbb accredited businesses have agreed to live up to our standards for trust. Our standards for trust are a comprehensive set of policies, procedures, and best practices focused on how businesses should treat the public, fairly and honestly in all circumstances. Bbb does not compare businesses against each other, but rather evaluates businesses against bbb standards, and bbb standards clearly speak to the character and competence of an organization. Bbb is the resource to turn to for objective, unbiased information on businesses. Bbb's network of national and local bbb operations allows us to monitor and take action on thousands of business issues affecting consumers at any given time. In 2025, the bureau provided 1,403,073 reports to consumers and handled approximately 11,003 complaints.

Financial Efficiency

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

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th 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; 64th 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: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -2.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 24.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings