Brightbridge Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581494630
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chattanooga, TN, USA
Phone
4234244220
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,405,323
Expenses
$9,379,832
Assets
$162,669,812
Liabilities
$150,637,147

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BILL POLLARD (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • MONICA BLANTON (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES MILLIRONS (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MIKE HOWARD (VICE-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MONICA BLANTON (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT): $259,312 total reported compensation
  • BILL POLLARD (PRESIDENT & CEO): $240,655 total reported compensation
  • AVERY BOGGESS (SECRETARY & VP): $148,801 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promotion and assistance of economic development through business financing and providing technical assistance

What it reported doing in 2024

Small business lending program - program a provides loans to small and startup businesses that are located in qualified areas loans that can be used for acquisition of land, land improvements, building construction, purchase of buildings, renovation of buildings, and purchase of machinery, or equipment. Program b provides businesses (both for-profit and not-for-profit) located in designated low-income census tracts or owned by members or a targeted population, which includes low-income persons and eligible minorities, with loans that can be used for most business purposes, including working capital, fixed assets, and others.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: 9.9%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.34; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.93; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $8.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $259K · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.