Religion News Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311650883
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Columbia, MO, USA
Phone
8447676397
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,440,759
Expenses
$4,473,937
Assets
$9,164,947
Liabilities
$349,186

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBORAH CALDWELL (CEO AND PUBLISHER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH CALDWELL (CEO AND PUBLISHER): $203,877 total reported compensation
  • PAUL O'DONNELL (EDITOR-IN-CHIEF): $177,784 total reported compensation
  • TYLER BORCHERS (OPERATIONS DIRECTOR): $154,474 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 advance the public understanding of religion and the development of religion journalism.

What it reported doing in 2024

Editorial: rns editorial team provides original reporting and commentary on religion, spirituality and faith. Journalists cover breaking news, investigative reports, profiles, features and explainers that further the understanding of world's religions. Distribution includes the website, e-newsletters, podcasts, social media and online events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36.6%; rating input score 37
  • Program expense ratio: 74.6%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 52.6%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36.6% of revenue deployed · 74.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $204K · 19 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $332K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 37/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.