Cooperative Energy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640367992
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Phone
1-800-431-1584
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,021,873,475
Expenses
$1,021,873,475
Assets
$2,328,471,749
Liabilities
$1,853,534,616

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

Leadership & pay

38 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFF BOWMAN (PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • CHRISTA BISHOP (SR VICE PRESIDENT/CCO)
  • GARY HUTSON (SR VICE PRESIDENT/COO)
  • KEVIN GRACE (SR. VICE PRESIDENT/ CFO)
  • DON HINTON (SR VICE PRESIDENT/CCO)
  • MARK SMITH (SR VICE PRESIDENT POWER GE)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFF BOWMAN (PRESIDENT/CEO): $1,369,286 total reported compensation
  • JAMES EVANS (SR VICE PRESIDENT/POWER DE): $539,269 total reported compensation
  • MARK SMITH (SR VICE PRESIDENT POWER GE): $526,429 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cooperative Energy, a generation and transmission cooperative, and our 11 member-owned distribution electric cooperatives provide safe, reliable, and affordable power to more than 450,000 homes and businesses across Mississippi.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide affordable and reliable electric energy to member cooperatives. The 11 member cooperatives provide service to approximately 456,000 meters in Mississippi. Cooperative energy and the 11 member systems are consumer-owned, non-profit businesses. During 2024, cooperative energy provided member systems with 10,227,219 mwh of energy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

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

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Fail
    • 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%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.28; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 38 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $63.7M reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 45 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.