Whatcom Business Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 454984520
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
- Location
- Bellingham, WA, USA
- Phone
- 3607460418
- Rating confidence
- Limited
- Sector
- Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $459,458
- Expenses
- $424,625
- Assets
- $198,257
- Liabilities
- $18,448
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BARBARA CHASE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- BARBARA CHASE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $124,327 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Whatcom business alliance (wba) operates as a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded and operated solely with private funding. The wba leadership network provides a strong voice for the private sector of business throughout whatcom county - small or large, private or public, in any industry or niche market. We encourage economic development and advocacy. The wba membership roll call continues to grow rapidly with a unifying mission: supporting and celebrating a positive business environment, and providing a vast communications network to address issues concerning businesses.
What it reported doing in 2024
Industry tours - established in 2012, wba industry tours mission is to educate and promote local business within whatcom county. Tours take place four times throughout the calendar year. Past tour locations have included companies such as bp cherry point, all american marine, intalco, rader farms, semiahmoo resort, and others.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 80% 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: 91
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 5th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 7.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 29.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 11 of 12 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.