Oklahoma Press Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 730383650
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Oklahoma City, OK, US
- Phone
- (405) 499-0020
- Rating
- 53
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $491,756
- Expenses
- $527,023
- Assets
- $777,369
- Liabilities
- $21,835
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SHAUNA BELYEU (PRESIDENT)
- SHEILA GAY (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- SUZIE CAMPBELL (VICE PRESIDENT)
- MARK THOMAS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/S)
Highest reported compensation
- MARK THOMAS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/S): $167,175 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To serve and support Oklahoma newspapers through advocacy, education, and resources.
What it reported doing in 2024
The legal services plan is established to help protect and advance the legal rights of the participants. The plan pursues this objective by making available skilled legal assistance and advice and legal defense services at a reasonable cost in specified areas of law that affect newspapers generally.in combination with the ongoing educational services provided by the Oklahoma press association to its members, the plan is a system whereby Oklahoma newspapers may seek and secure their legal rights and interests at a reasonable cost and thereby conduct their business in a lawful manner to the benefit of themselves and the public.while the idea is not new, this Oklahoma press association legal services plan is the first such program in the united states for newspapers to provide comprehensive legal advice and group defense of lawsuits claiming damages as a result of a publication.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 33
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 37.2%; rating input score 37
- Program expense ratio: 35.9%; rating input score 36
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -7.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.48; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: Limited
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 37.2% of revenue deployed · 35.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 37/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 36/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.