Dth Media Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561247570
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone
9199624215
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$595,266
Expenses
$587,016
Assets
$695,175
Liabilities
$3,849

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GAVIN ZHU (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • GRAYSON ELLIOTT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GAVIN ZHU (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • FLAVIA NUNEZ LUDEIRO (DIRECTOR)
  • COURTLAND BARTOSIK (DIRECTOR)

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 enhance students academic experience by publishing a university community newspaper.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization trained and mentored more than 300 unc students in journalism and business skills involved in producing news for university of North Carolina students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the surrounding community. The daily tar heel won its 18th pacemaker award, recognizing general excellence in college media. The daily tar heel prints 10,000 copies weekly, as well as special editions throughout the year. Production and publication schedules align with the unc academic calendar. Printed copies go to about 200 locations on uncs campus and surrounding areas. The dth also provides daily digital news coverage at dailytarheel.com, as well as email and social media channels. Dailytarheel.com drew more than 2 million unique visitors and generated more than 3.5 million page views from july 2024 to june 2025. The organization gave direct financial assistance to more than 80 students totaling more than $150,000.

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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.18; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.1% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $511K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.