Evanston Roundtable Media Nfp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850811163
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Evanston, IL, USA
Phone
8478647741
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$705,559
Expenses
$566,123
Assets
$406,174
Liabilities
$479

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THERESA L QUATTROCKI (PRESIDENT)
  • MARK MILLER (VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER)

People named in this filing

  • THERESA L QUATTROCKI (PRESIDENT)
  • MARK MILLER (VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER)
  • ELLEN GALLAND (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to serve as the communinity's leading source of news about local government, schools, civic and artistic activities, and other important issues facing our city. The organization seeks to foster civic engagement and empower people to address complex issues facing our diverse community, promoting a better understanding and appreciation of people of all races, ethnicities, and income levels.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization is a digital local news outlet and has been online since 2008. From the beginning, the organization has been available at no charge, with the aim of making news available to all residents of evanston.over the years, the organization has developed a strong reputation in the community for its-in-depth, objective coverage of evanston's city government, schools, social issues, arts and culture, and sports. The paper and its reporters, editors and designers have received more than 200 journalism awards from journalism associations and local organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% 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: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.8%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $444K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.