New York Public Radio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133015230
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, US
Phone
6468294400
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$85,273,590
Expenses
$78,829,581
Assets
$119,994,962
Liabilities
$46,442,313

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

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAFONTAINE OLVIER (PRESIDENT & CEO/TRUSTEE)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAFONTAINE OLVIER (PRESIDENT & CEO/TRUSTEE): $721,958 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN LEHRER (HOST/EDITORIAL LEAD): $487,921 total reported compensation
  • ARMANDO GUTIERREZ (SVP & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (THRU 03/10/2025)): $470,856 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 make the mind more curious, the heart more open and the spirit more joyful through excellent audio programming that is deeply rooted in New York.

What it reported doing in 2024

Programming: New York public radio consists of wnyc am 820, wnyc fm 93.9, www.wnyc.org, wnjt fm 88.1, wnjp fm 88.5, wnjy fm 89.3, wnjo fm 90.3, www.njpr.org, wqxr 105.9 fm, www.wqxr.org, www.wqxw.org, www.gothamist.com, and the jerome l. Greene performance space. Wnyc and wqxr are among the country's leading public radio stations. Established in 1924 as a municipal radio station and operated as such for 75 years, New York public radio now exists as an independent, not-for-profit organization with a vibrant board of trustees. For more information, see schedule o.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.3%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 68.8%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.8%; rating input score 97; 52nd 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: 7.6%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 69.3% of revenue deployed · 68.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 30 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $54.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $722K · 46 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.