Lynn Community Access & Media

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203931526
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Lynn, MA, USA
Phone
7815964251
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$507,945
Expenses
$525,328
Assets
$855,365
Liabilities
$476,825

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KAREN CHAPMAN (PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • CATHERINE VITALE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAREN CHAPMAN (PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR): $6,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Community studio for public, educational & municipal access

What it reported doing in 2013

Community studio for public, educational & municipal access, funds from government required franchise fees and from community at large in form of franchise fees

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $64.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.9% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $451K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $6K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2010 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.