Cobb EMC

Legal name: Cobb Electric Membership Corp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580198155
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Marietta, GA, US
Phone
(770) 429-2100
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$476,195,986
Expenses
$473,895,275
Assets
$1,430,813,235
Liabilities
$403,653,630

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVAN ESPY (PRESIDENT &)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEVAN ESPY (PRESIDENT &): $951,183 total reported compensation
  • KELSIE DANIELS (VP-INFO. TEC): $561,256 total reported compensation
  • TIM SOSEBEE (SR VP-BUSINE): $526,083 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Cobb EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative dedicated to providing reliable, affordable electricity and exceptional service to its members.

Cobb EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative serving over 200,000 residential and business accounts in Cobb, Cherokee, and surrounding counties in Georgia. The cooperative provides reliable electricity, energy efficiency programs, renewable energy options like solar and battery storage, and community support through initiatives such as the Cobb EMC Foundation, Project SHARE, and scholarships. It also offers outage alerts, storm safety resources, and member benefits including energy audits and payment assistance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th 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: 0.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.02; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: Filed program service accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $951K · 15 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $10.7M reported
  • Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.