Torch Literary Arts
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 873480372
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2021
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5126419251
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $324,087
- Expenses
- $298,351
- Assets
- $152,750
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- AMANDA JOHNSTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- AMANDA JOHNSTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $82,731 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 promote the work of black women by publishing contemporary creative writing by emerging and experienced writers alike, to archive contributors' literary work for posterity and educational purposes, and provide resources and opportunities for the advancement of black women through literary arts.
What it reported doing in 2024
Torch magazine: online literary magazine that publishes features monthly across poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and script (plays and screenplays).
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 7.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 27.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 36.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 46.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 24.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $272K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.