Center for Broadcast Journalism

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
920429167
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6513353423
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$349,441
Expenses
$368,280
Assets
$170,168
Liabilities
$2,027

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GEORGIA FORT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GEORGIA FORT (PRESIDENT): $76,560 total reported compensation
  • MARIANNE COMBS MANAGING NEWS (DIRECTOR, CO-CHAIR 1/1/24-11/30/24): $38,080 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Center for broadcast journalism's mission is to mobilize the next generation to advance representation in media. We make media accessible to early career journalists by removing barriers through education, paid internships, and employment opportunities, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in journalism. While we focus our work on black and brown aspiring journalists, our goal is to balance racial representation in media in Minnesota and our surrounding region.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the center for broadcast journalism expanded its impact by training and mentoring a new cohort of young journalists and radio announcers with several participants securing jobs and scholarships in the field and publishing over 150 stories on-air and online. To strengthen audience research and development, we curated 7th street live, which had over 1700 participants and served as a neighborhood gathering that celebrated our signal's community while supporting local artists and businesses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.4%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 68.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 68.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $251K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.