Word Radio
Legal name: Word Radio Educational Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 020453691
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
- Location
- New Durham, NH, United States
- Phone
- 1-888-512-1846
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religious Radio
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $344,843
- Expenses
- $289,254
- Assets
- $488,359
- Liabilities
- $4,317
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Ronald Malone (President/ Chairman)
People named in this filing
- Alicia Wentworth (Director/ VP)
- Michael Govey (Director)
- John Heimann (Director/ Sec-Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide inspirational Biblical content, current news, and information, through programming that amplifies a Christian World View on broadcast radio and various internet digital platforms. God has provided for the needs of Word Radio through the prayerful and enthusiastic support of hundreds of partners to potentially reach millions. Through their faithful prayers and generous donations, the Word continues to go forth. In the projected tumultuous days ahead, people are going to need the continuing steady input from broadcasting that directs them to hope and fills their lives with purpose. Help Support Our Mission Word Radio is a network of noncommercial Christian stations throughout southern Maine and New Hampshire. We broadcast God’s Word in three formats for similar programming at varying times to accommodate your busy schedule and online 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Word Radio Educational Foundation was organized to provide a platform to establish Non-Commercial Educational Christian radio broadcasting to communities within the reach of its radio broadcasting facilities which would proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach Judeo- Christian principles for life. __WORD RADIO EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION continues to accomplish this by its outreach through four Christian broadcasting stations and their worldwide APP. Its flagship station WSEW 88.7 FM licensed to Sanford, Maine, broadcasts to points in southern Maine, seacoast and inner regions of New Hampshire, and northeastern Massachusetts along the I-95 corridor to Boston. WORD RADIO LIFE format broadcasts on WRKJ 88.5 FM Gorham, Maine, reaching into the Westbrook-Portland area, and WWPC 91.7 FM New Durham, NH reaching the Lakes Regions of southern NH. WORD RADIO POWER format broadcasts over the region on WMEK 88.1 FM, licensed to Kennebunkport, Maine, with a potential reach of upward towards a milling listeners. ____The source to provide programming to these three formats is via microwave signals with redundant backup systems to ensure that all WORD RADIO stations operate 24/7 without interruption. Tower sites, studio and office properties are all securely monitored and fully insured. __The website for wordradio.net provides on-demand features that allow access to all programming on all stations. It includes public service announcements heard over the air and placed on the website, keeping a community of listeners connected through events and activities of interest. Security on the web is high priority and new information technology safeguards are in place. __The funding of this Program Service is comprised of donations from Individuals; Impact Partners consisting of Churches, Christian schools, Christian ministries, and Christian business owners; Program Producers, themselves being listener supported and who have a shared participation arrangement with non-commercial broadcasters providing an agreed upon percentage of their donations attributable to WORD RADIO stations. _ The accomplishment of this program represents a growing partnership of like-minded individuals and ministries working towards the common goal of spreading God's Word to the many who tune in by choice or by chance and bringing Sound Biblical Teaching between Sundays to listeners in an ever-expanding listening area.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 16.1%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.69; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $289K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.