Lexington Community Radio Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364662643
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Lexington, KY, USA
Phone
8597215688
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$528,183
Expenses
$489,722
Assets
$258,324
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dominique Wright (President)
  • Melissa Kane Tibbs (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Dominique Wright (President)
  • Shannon Stuart-Smith (Director)
  • April Renee Edmonds (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

RADIOLEX provides multiple media platforms to amplify underrepresented local voices and promote an equitable, inclusive community while nurturing an informed and safe Lexington.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, Lexington Community Radio marked its 10th year on the air and underwent its most significant transformation since its founding. After a period of financial strain that brought the organization to a crossroads, leadership made the decision to expand rather than contract. The result was MEDIALEX, a comprehensive community media organization built on the foundation of a decade of community radio. The rebranding from RADIOLEX to MEDIALEX reflected a deliberate strategic shift. The organization broadened its mission beyond its two low-power FM broadcast stations, WLXU 93.9 FM and WLXL 95.7 FM, to encompass podcasts, video, digital storytelling, and community journalism. Programming continued across both frequencies, with volunteer hosts producing thousands of hours of hyper-local content in English and Spanish throughout the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.4% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 14 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $414K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.