Memphis Fourth Estate Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825339555
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9015016397
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,864,658
Expenses
$5,920,297
Assets
$2,609,264
Liabilities
$1,906,583

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDY CATES (PRESIDENT &)
  • ERIC BARNES (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC BARNES (CEO): $181,962 total reported compensation
  • JASON ISRAEL (CTO): $175,930 total reported compensation
  • GEOFFREY CALKINS (COLUMNIST): $173,090 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Memphis fourth estate d/b/a the daily memphian is an independent, not-for- profit organization with the mission of gathering and disseminating information in a nonpartisan manner about important public-policy issues and matters of importance to residents of memphis, tn and surrounding communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Memphis fourth estate gathers and disseminates information in a nonpartisan manner about important public-policy issues and matters of importance to residents of the city of memphis and surrounding areas, using investigative, explanatory, data-driven and multimedia journalism through its online publication for which it offers monthly and annual subscriptions. In addition to the online publication, the organization fulfills an educational role for the public and for journalists and aspiring journalists through, amount other means, internships and collaborative activity with local colleges and universities. It also seeks to engage the community by providing seminar series, symposia, and workshops, both online and by conventional means, on subjects of importance to the community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 66% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 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: -0.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.4% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.7% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 15 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.