Nreca International Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521409279
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
7039075605
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Utilities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,257,766
Expenses
$1,590,705
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFFREY CONNOR (PRESIDENT)
  • DANIEL B WADDLE (SR. VICE PRESIDENT NRECA I)
  • VENEICIA C LOCKHART (SR. VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE)
  • JO ANN EMERSON (PRESIDENT (FORMER))

Highest reported compensation

  • JO ANN EMERSON (PRESIDENT (FORMER)): $1,301,020 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY CONNOR (PRESIDENT): $588,007 total reported compensation
  • VENEICIA C LOCKHART (SR. VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE): $546,589 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The nreca international foundation helps bring electricity to people living in rural areas in developing countries. By partnering with u.s. Electric co-ops and other organizations, we help bring hope and light to villages worldwide.

What it reported doing in 2016

The education and volunteer program provided u.s. Electric cooperative employees as well as other individuals with opportunities to work on various foundation activities and projects. The primary objective of the volunteer program is to provide hands-on knowledge transfer between u.s. Engineers, lineman and their overseas counterparts. This program also includes the foundation's sister coop initiative that provides u.s. Electric cooperatives with the opportunity to "sister" with an overseas electric cooperative. The objective of the sister coop initiative is to build long-term technical assistance relationships between u.s. And developing countries. In 2016, the foundation sent 78 volunteers to three developing countries and estimated value of their donated time not included in this return is $625,352.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 3
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 49.8%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -26.5%; rating input score 6; 6th 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: 42.9%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -25.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -25.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -100% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 49.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $793K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.3M · 18 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2014 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 10 filed related-organization links
  • 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 50/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.