Minnesota News Media Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271628407
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6123328844
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$71,376
Expenses
$79,758
Assets
$1,635,117
Liabilities
$69,689

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHAD KOENEN (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • JUSTIN LESSMAN (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CRYSTAL MILLER (PRESIDENT)
  • TARA BRANDL (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KELLY BOLDAN (3RD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LISA HILLS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA HILLS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $165,331 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Minnesota news media institute (mni) is a partnership of the more than 250 weekly and daily newspaper and digital news members of the Minnesota newspaper association. (continued on schedule o)the Minnesota news media institute's mission is to provide high-quality, accessible and affordable education, training and professional development opportunities for current and future news media professionals; to promote fair and trusted journalism; and to work to increase the public's understanding of the role and obligation of a free press in our society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Citizen journalism university: citizen journalism university was launched in 2022 by mni, in partnership with bethel university, in response to an obvious labor crisis among Minnesota's community newspapers. Cju is an intensive, five-week online training program that takes community members from interested bystanders to fledgling reporters who are equipped to report on community topics for their sponsoring newspaper. The cju course is taught online by seasoned Minnesota newspaper professionals and bethel university journalism faculty. Students are supported throughout by volunteer mentors. Fourteen people from three states successfully completed the course in 2024 and earned citizen journalist certification. (continuted on schedule o)mni subsidizes the program and tuition for Minnesota students sponsored by mna members. Other sponsor news organizations pay full tuition. There is no cost to students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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 - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 53.4%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.5; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.4% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.9% of revenue deployed · 53.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $43K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.