Rhode Island Public Radio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
050498502
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Providence, RI, USA
Phone
4013512800
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,097,256
Expenses
$3,779,532
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TOREY MALATIA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • TOREY MALATIA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $258,864 total reported compensation
  • SALLY EISELE (CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER): $148,555 total reported compensation
  • NANCY WOOD (CHIEF PROGRESS OFFICER): $114,046 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide quality journalism and compelling storytelling that informs, educates, and inspirescommunity.

What it reported doing in 2023

2023 was a year of continued development of deeper local journalism through broadcast, digital and in person platforms. Highlights included: 1) completion of our investigative project in partnership with frontline's local journalism fellowship program at wgbh. 2)continued investment in enterprise and investigative journalism. 3)the hiring of a metro desk reporter, covering the key communities of the greater providence area. 4)participation in the national america amplified journalism engagement project, which will add an important community engagement element to our election coverage in 2024.in addition, the public's radio continued to adapt to changing audience habits, discussing ways to develop stronger ways to serve our communities and build audiences across multiple platforms. To that end, we launched a newly-designed website which will be more user friendly and provide an interactive space in which to engage our audiences. We also began the process of relocating our south county bureau from a small space in the united theatre in westerly to a nearby space that affords greater opportunity for in-person community engagement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 64.5%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 26th 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: -22%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.7% of revenue deployed · 64.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $259K · 27 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.