Marfa Public Radio Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562497864
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Marfa, TX, USA
Phone
4327294578
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,735,715
Expenses
$1,384,211
Assets
$2,564,871
Liabilities
$459,762

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL PACHECO (PRESIDENT)
  • KARMEN BRYANT (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • ELISE PEPPLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELISE PEPPLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $145,592 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To be a public service and a lifeline for our community, to unify and promote cultural enrichment through presentation and focus on the importance of art, education and science, quality of life and the local economy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Programming, production, and broadcasting: the station purchases national programming and produces locally produced programs of high quality, diversity, creativity, excellence, and innovation in accordance with its mission to be a public service and a lifeline for the west Texas community. The station broadcasts the purchased and locally produced programs over five fm radio frequencies with radio towers in marfa/fort davis (93.5 fm krts), alpine 91.7 fm (krtp), marathon (91.5 fm kdky), presidio (95.3 fm kdjp) and midland/odessa (91.3 fm kxwt). The station is invested in local reporting with a newsroom of four people. Marfa public radio invests in both podcast and broadcast content to reach audiences across platforms. The station prioritizes compelling narratives, community engagement, and experimentation. This year the station launched three podcasts via its studio. Equally essential is the station's role fostering connection for communities across west Texas.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.5%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 60.6%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.3%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.85; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.5% of revenue deployed · 60.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $838K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.