ReliabilityFirst
Legal name: ReliabilityFirst Corporation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 141933339
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio, US
- Phone
- 2165030600
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public Utilities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $28,160,719
- Expenses
- $30,376,076
- Assets
- $21,306,561
- Liabilities
- $11,147,539
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Timothy R Gallagher (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Timothy R Gallagher (President & CEO): $1,020,031 total reported compensation
- Diane Holder (VP, Engineering & Strategic Engmnt): $494,680 total reported compensation
- Niki Schaefer (VP & General Counsel): $481,293 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 the public good and support health and safety through preserving and enhancing the reliability, security and resilience of the grid.
What it reported doing in 2024
Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis (RAPA) - The RAPA Program analyzed, assessed, and reported on the reliability and adequacy of the Bulk Electric System within the ReliabilityFirst footprint. Staff helped identify and assess risks across the footprint and its deliverables were a major contributor to the risk based efforts of the entire organization. This work included the performance of resource and transmission assessment studies; special analyses and investigations as warranted; and the collection and dissemination of data, lessons learned, and other information.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 16
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.8%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 65
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 78.6%; rating input score 79; 15th 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -7.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.52; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 70.8% of revenue deployed · 65.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $19.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.