Tennessee Assn of Broadcasters

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
626048895
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6153651840
Rating
38
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$974,352
Expenses
$1,010,402
Assets
$1,902,611
Liabilities
$27,197

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRIS BAKER (PRESIDENT/CE)
  • D WHIT ADAMSON (PRESIDENT-EM)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRIS BAKER (PRESIDENT/CE): $227,989 total reported compensation
  • BRENDA HEIDT (VP OPERATION): $88,858 total reported compensation
  • HALLIE COLOMBO (VP MEMBER SE): $80,479 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance the best interests of the broadcast industry in the state of Tennessee through a variety of programs intended to educate broadcasters to assist them in better serving the public interest and to foster stronger relationships between broadcasters, the citizens of Tennessee, nonprofit organizations and federal and Tennessee state and local governmental departments and officials.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Tennessee association of broadcasters (the "association") has long maintained a noncommercial sustaining announcement program ("ncsa program") through which member and nonmember radio and television stations in the state voluntarily donate airtime which the association, under the program, makes available to governmental and not-for-profit entities and organizations to achieve state-wide coverage of their activities, events and programs which benefit the public at large. To participate in the ncsa program, these entities and organizations pay the association customarily a fraction of what it would cost these entities and organizations to purchase the airtime from individual stations throughout the state at normal commercial rates. The monies received by the association are used by the association solely for its tax-exempt purposes, such as conducting seminars for stations so that they can better serve the public interest. Importantly, the ncsa program serves to strengthen the relationships between the broadcast industry and governmental and not-for-profit entities and organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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

REVIEW - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 63.2%; rating input score 63; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -19.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $228K · 28 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 12 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.