Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
863715364
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Jacksonville, FL, USA
Phone
9043450597
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$429,231
Expenses
$419,272
Assets
$252,024
Liabilities
$1,075

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Ashley Smith Juarez (Chair)
  • Rhema Bland (Director)
  • Jennifer Mansfield (Treasurer)

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 Tributary is a nonprofit newsroom producing high-impact government accountability and investigative journalism in the public interest. Based in Jacksonville, The Tributary's mission is to shine a light on systemic problems and solutions, hold those in power accountable, and focus on undercovered topics through collaboration with other news organizations and the community. We fill gaps in our media ecosystem, reporting on topics and issues that would otherwise go uncovered, with a focus on stories that make an impact. Since its founding in 2021, The Tributary's journalism has has had a positive impact on the community and won awards at the state and national level.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Tributary spends the majority of its expenses on producing high-quality journalism in the public interest. In 2024, the organization published articles by staff and freelancers covering a range of issues. The organization covered the 2024 elections for school board, legislature, judicial and other local races, in which it was the only local news outlet covered each race individually. It also reported on conditions at the Duval County jail and other issues affecting criminal justice system, as well as reporting on connections between a legislator and private company.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 45.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 43.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.4% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.