Blue Ridge Broadcasting Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
560750258
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Black Mountain, NC, USA
Phone
8282858477
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,537,219
Expenses
$3,550,238
Assets
$9,778,625
Liabilities
$449,095

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID BRUCE (PRESIDENT)
  • PETER FONTAINE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WM FRANKLIN GRAHAM III (DIRECTOR): $258,677 total reported compensation
  • BILLY GRAHAM (FORMER CHAIRMAN): $242,934 total reported compensation
  • DAVID BRUCE (PRESIDENT): $218,545 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Blue ridge broadcasting corporation's mission is to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (mark 16:15). We proclaim the gospel of jesus christ using bible teaching and christian music on radio stations in western North Carolina and through internet outreaches that stretch across the globe.

What it reported doing in 2014

"'everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved.' but how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" (romans 10:13-14). Every day blue ridge broadcasting works to tell thousands of people about jesus christ. Through evangelism, discipleship and mission opportunities we strive to lead people into a personal and dynamic relationship with jesus christ. In 2014 blue ridge broadcasting aired over 10,000 hours of evangelistic and discipleship teaching programs; aired over 20,000 hours of christian music; sponsored concerts, trade shows, festivals, sporting events, marriage conferences, women's conferences, evangelistic events, teaching events, and speaking events with combined attendance of over 235,000 and resulting in at least 10,500 decisions of salvation or recommitment. The 2014 mission opportunities included helping 1,552 children attend christian schools for one year; collecting over 8,000 operation christmas child shoeboxes; sponsored 6,300 children with assistance during christmas season; and supporting our sister station in reaching over 500,000 arabic speaking people.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.4%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.75; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.8% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $259K · 11 people listed · 0 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: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 5 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.