South Florida Public Media Group Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237365001
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Miami, FL, USA
Phone
3057977977
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Eye Diseases, Blindness and Vision Impairments

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,660,344
Expenses
$11,347,115
Assets
$48,074,998
Liabilities
$481,711

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN LABONIA (CEO)
  • SERGIO BUSTOS (VICE-PRESIDENT OF NEWS)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN LABONIA (CEO): $351,341 total reported compensation
  • SHEILA REINKEN (COO): $292,240 total reported compensation
  • STEPHANIE VEGA (CFO): $217,090 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

South Florida public media group, inc. Dba friends of wlrn, inc. (the "corporation") was incorporated on january 22, 1974, under the laws of the state of Florida pursuant to section 617.0201 (4) of the Florida not-for-profit corporation act with a purpose to support and enhance the program services of wlrn-fm 91.3, wkwm-fm 91.5, and wlrn-tv channel 17 ("wlrn") as well as other broadcast and non-broadcast services licensed to and/or operated by the school board of miami-dade county, Florida ("mdcps"). On july 1, 2022, the corporation amended its purpose to be for educational and charitable purposes, such as to operate and manage noncommercial educational radio and television stations and to provide assistance to noncommercial publicly supported broadcasting in south Florida, including broadcast properties licensed to mdcps or licensed to or managed by the corporation.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the year, the organization managed wlrn tv and wlrn radio on behalf of the miami-dade county public schools, the licensee, according to a media management agreement which commenced on july 1, 2022. As part of its management of the stations, the organization generated approximately $9,400,000 in support and revenues with which to operate the stations. The organization utilized these revenues plus other funds to make contributions to cover approximately $6,600,000 programming and operation expenses plus $4,500,000 in expenses related to fundraising and marketing for the stations. These amounts were used by the organization exclusively to fulfill its tax exempt purpose.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.2%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 55.8%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.87 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 27.5%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.24; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.2% of revenue deployed · 55.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $351K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.