Standardbred Journal Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
863095462
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Apple Creek, OH, USA
Phone
3302316209
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Equestrian

Reported finances

Revenue
$563,302
Expenses
$550,676
Assets
$224,628
Liabilities
$96,032

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK A YODER (BOARD MEMBER): $69,800 total reported compensation
  • ANTHONY L MILLER (TREASURER): $23,300 total reported compensation
  • BETH A MILLER (BOARD MEMBER): $22,738 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Standardbred Journals mission is to provide education, news, and marketing opportunities to all horse enthusiasts and to raise funds to promote, enhance, and protect the Standardbred Horse industry. The Standardbred Journals primary conduit to educate the general public is a periodical it publishes on a quarterly basis.

What it reported doing in 2024

Promotion and sponsorships of The Standardbred Roadster 100 and Standardbred Roadster Classic competitions and annual events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 10
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 98.2%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.2%; rating input score 91; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.2%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96% of revenue deployed · 98.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $541K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.