Detroit PBS

What it reported doing in 2024

Production & content creation: the production team continues to produce content in spaces across metro detroit including the detroit school of arts and lawerence tech university, as well as taking the detroit pbs hd production truck on the road to capture important conferences, events, and concerts. Below are productions by category.arts and culture: detroit performs: live is a television series with a digital presence. The series has been recorded at the marygrove conservancy theater and features detroiters performing live on stage with a different arts and cultural partner curating each episode. This format assures a diverse lineup of musicians, artists, storytellers, actors and other performance artists, all presenting original material. Sphinx finals concert: detroit pbs partnered with the sphinx organization to livestream and broadcast the 28th annual sphinx finals competition concert. The sphinx competition offers young black and latinx classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an international renowned panel of judges and to perform with established professional musicians in a competition setting. Live streaming and broadcast services: detroit pbs regularly provides production services to connect events with larger audiences. Partners in fy25 included "mackinac policy conference", "detroit jazz festival", "library of congress national book festival", "concert of colors", "detroit future city equity forum and more. 90.9 wrcj: detroit's only classical and jazz radio station produced concert broadcasts by the detroit opera and the detroit symphony orchestra and recorded concerts from Michigan philharmonic and ann arbor symphony orchestra. In addition, each week 90.9 wrcj hosts an hour of classical concerts from Michigan state university which features faculty artists, student ensembles, and guests from around the world, captured in performance at cook recital hall, fairchild theatre and wharton center cobb great hall on the msu campus.children and education: detroit pbs kids is a digital broadcast channel (56.2) and online service that provides children's programming 24/7 and is consistently one of the most watched pbs kids channels in the country. Additionally, detroit pbs kids provides significant programming to the community, including community events, workshops, and meet-ups reaching approximately 10,700 participants in fy25.additionally, a total of 22 videos were produced (11 in english and 11 in spanish) to share resources with caregivers on developing literacy skills in young children.the Michigan learning channel (mlc) launched as a statewide partnership between all Michigan pbs stations in january 2021. It is a 24/7 broadcast channel, streaming service and robust website with on-demand video and supplemental materials, operated through detroit pbs. The mlc offers instructional programs that are standards aligned and follow the Michigan educational calendar. An estimated 500,000 viewers watch each month across the state. In fy25, detroit pbs produced 12 "read, write, roar! 4th and 5th grade" episodes which provide lessons to support literacy skills which are aired on broadcast and available digitally on demand. Five new episodes of "on location" a digital series were produced to bring educational resources from unique places from across the state directly to students. Ready to learn: through the ready to learn initiative, detroit pbs provides free, evidence-based educational media and supporting learning resources that help educators, caregivers, and parents build early science and literacy skills for america's children, especially those from low-income communities. The detroit pbs main channel 56.1 broadcasts pbs kids programming for 7 hours each weekday, providing trusted educational programs for children. Professional learning opportunities for teachers were hosted by the Michigan learning channel. Fellowship opportunities were offered to educators including labs: learn and build statew

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 66.5%; rating input score 66
• Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $4.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 12.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.65; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings