Desert Soul Media Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811526333
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$95,205
Expenses
$64,830
Assets
$185,135
Liabilities
$93,325

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kaja Brown (Executive Director and President and Secretary)
  • Calvin J Worthen (Vice Chair of the Board and Deputy Director and Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Jennifer Davis-Paige (Chair of the Board)
  • Kaja Brown (Executive Director and President and Secretary)
  • Calvin J Worthen (Vice Chair of the Board and Deputy Director and Vice President)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The organizations exempt purposes are to provide trauma informed media literacy training to African-American youth and adults; to produce a weekly African-American cultural affairs program; to operate radio and television stations; and to operate media arts and culture centers. Mission Statement: Desert Soul Media Inc. is an educational non-profit bridging the digital divide between access to and training on digital media equipment and software; and the intergenerational underrepresented populations in the digital media arts industry. Our highest priorities are Black and African American youth seniors and families. We are telling our stories our way.

What it reported doing in 2024

We provided digital media training to community members. We maintain online and broadcast stations to further support our mission of bridging the digital divide and providing media access to underserved populations. We partnered with local businesses and organizations to provide community programming and public service announcements. We provided opportunities for local artist to showcase their talents in the community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. 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: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39.7%; rating input score 40
  • Program expense ratio: 58.3%; rating input score 58

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.9%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.86; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39.7% of revenue deployed · 58.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $38K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.