Kentucky Public Radio Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611259787
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Phone
5028146500
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,003,384
Expenses
$8,082,781
Assets
$4,850,646
Liabilities
$1,116,407

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN GEORGE (PRESIDENT & CEO (THRU 12/31/24))
  • KENYA YOUNG (PRESIDENT & CEO (START 05/19/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN GEORGE (PRESIDENT & CEO (THRU 12/31/24)): $218,137 total reported compensation
  • GRAY SMITH (VP OF BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS): $169,885 total reported compensation
  • JOHN GRANTZ (SR. BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP MANAGER): $154,205 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lpm provides independent and courageous news, music and experiences that serve the needs and aspirations of our diverse communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Louisville public media (lpm) operates three noncommercial radio stations: 89.3 wfpl news louisville, 90.5 wuol classical louisville, and 91.9 wfpk music louisville: along with the Kentucky center for investigative reporting (kycir), collectively reaching over 322,400 monthly broadcast listeners and 260,157 unique monthly web visitors across greater louisville, Kentucky, and southern Indiana. Lpm provides independent, nonpartisan civic journalism including investigative reporting, statewide voter guides, legislative session coverage, and community reporting on topics such as public housing, police reform, education, arts and culture, environmental health, and government transparency. Lpm also advances arts and culture in the region through free and accessible programming including over 50 hosted events, the wfpk waterfront wednesday outdoor concert series drawing over 65,000 attendees, classical music rebroadcasts, and youth music education initiatives reaching tens of thousands of students in local schools and community centers. Lpm has also expanded its regional journalism footprint as lead station for both the association of Kentucky public radio stations and the newly formed appalachia + mid-south newsroom (amsn), a seven-station npr regional collaboration serving Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $409K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.