PBS Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 201476451
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Arlington, VA, US
- Phone
- (703) 739-5051
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $53,653,774
- Expenses
- $38,828,422
- Assets
- $71,260,640
- Liabilities
- $20,384,128
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Paula A Kerger (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)
- Brian J Reddington (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- Paula A Kerger (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR): $1,602,897 total reported compensation
- Jonathan Barzilay (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $866,097 total reported compensation
- Katherine Lauderdale (CHIEF LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE OFFICER): $632,537 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The PBS Foundation's mission is to secure philanthropic support that advances PBS's mission to inform, educate, and inspire the American public through non-commercial media.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Foundation makes grants to PBS to support the work of PBS. Grants to PBS in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, consist of funding to support content for Lynn Novick productions, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s productions, and programming for Arts, News and Public Affairs, and Science and Nature.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 99% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 69
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.5%; rating input score 66
- Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 27.6%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.84; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 66.5% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $34.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.6M · 30 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $345K reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.