SC Educational Communications Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570739523
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Spartanburg, SC, USA
Phone
8645850102
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Television

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,513,429
Expenses
$2,475,039
Assets
$681,204
Liabilities
$161,765

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Coby C Latham CPA CFRE (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Coby C Latham CPA CFRE (Executive Director): $308,701 total reported compensation
  • Lauren Chivers (Financial Officer): $190,724 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

South Carolina Educational Communications, Inc. ("SCEC") supports and promotes educational public media activities in South Carolina and across the United States, including the development and creation of original content for broadcast and educational purposes. THE ACTIVITIES OF SCEC HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO ASSIST AND FURTHER THE PURPOSES OF THE ETV ENDOWMENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA, INC. SCEC ALSO ENGAGES IN ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH EDUCATIONAL ENDEAVORS.

What it reported doing in 2024

RADIO PRODUCTION EXPENSES: SCEC produces and/or presents programs used by South Carolina Public Radio for broadcast locally on SC Public Radio's nine radio stations and nationally on NPR and its affiliate stations. These programs are funded in part by restricted grants from foundations, corporations and individuals as well as governmental entities. SCEC, along with the ETV Endowment of South Carolina and SC Public Radio, also contributes substantial in-kind gifts to ensure program completion and distribution. Since its founding in 1982, SCEC has managed more than $122 million in restricted program production grants. In FY25, six programs were in production. Programs included "Walter Edgar's Journal", "ColaJazz", "Rapp on Jazz", "Shortwave Kitsch", "Rooted Rhythm "Who What When".

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.6%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 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: 1.5%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.6% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $309K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 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: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.