Journal Communications Inc Employees' Welfare Benefit Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391868604
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142242914
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,266,392
Expenses
$14,073,564
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDRE FERNANDEZ (TRUSTEE): $968,130 total reported compensation
  • JASON GRAHAM (TRUSTEE): $406,951 total reported compensation
  • KAREN O TRICKLE (TRUSTEE): $268,562 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The trust exists for the purpose of funding benefits that are provided to all eligible employees of journal communications, inc., its subsidiaries, and the dependents of such employees, under various health, welfare, and other plans.

What it reported doing in 2014

The Plan provides health benefits, covering full-time employees, and their dependents, of the Plan sponsor (Journal Communications, Inc.) and certain wholly-owned subsidiaries after satisfaction of the requirements for participation in a benefit program, including the requirements relating to status as a full-time active employee, waiting periods, enrollment, and payment of any required premiums. Examples of the health benefits provided include - Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Disability, Voluntary Legal, Long-term Care, and Identity Theft. There were 2,829 covered participants prior to the termination.

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: 60
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 0

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; 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -15.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -200% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $968K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.9M reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 10 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2013 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.