Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
630182345
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rainsville, AL, US
Phone
(256) 638-2153
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$89,595,976
Expenses
$86,479,433
Assets
$125,492,463
Liabilities
$47,862,573

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID HENDERSON (PRESIDENT)
  • LARRY G GODWIN (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • JOSEPH BATES (CEO/GENERAL MANAGER)
  • MARK MALONE (FORMER CEO/GENERAL MANAGER)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK MALONE (FORMER CEO/GENERAL MANAGER): $385,146 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN ANDERSON (COO): $384,386 total reported compensation
  • RANDY D MOODY (JOURNEYMAN LINEMAN): $216,973 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution utility serving over 30,700 members in portions of DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and Cherokee counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

To provide electricity to its 33,755 customers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 3.5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.45; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $86.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $385K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.