St Louis Regional Public Media Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Community engagement and education: we are working to ensure our community understands both the challenges holding our region back and the opportunities that can move us forward. Through our nationally recognized model for engagement, nine pbs grounds its work in the voices and needs of the community. We convene stakeholders to listen and learn, elevate diverse perspectives, and tailor our engagement to authentically reflect the people we serve. Just as importantly, we close the loop - reporting back on progress and outcomes to ensure transparency and accountability. This approach ensures our engagement is not just meaningful, but action-oriented - rooted in conversation, collaboration, and measurable impact.these efforts are especially critical as we respond to urgent regional needs. Nearly half of third graders are not reading at grade level, and the vast majority of children are not enrolled in accredited preschool programs. To address these challenges, nine pbs's early learning initiative focuses on a "highest need, highest impact" approach, aligning closely with regional partners to improve third-grade literacy, strengthen school readiness, and equip caring adults with tools to support children's learning.in 2025, we advanced this work through a range of targeted initiatives, including professional development for educators, our annual edcamp conference, teaching in room 9 on-air and digital classroom experiences, nine pbs power hour facilitated learning sessions, the drawn in multi-platform literacy initiative, and pbs learningmedia curriculum resources. We also continued the third year of our mental well-being initiative, offering community convenings, curated resources, and trusted content shared both on-air and online - ensuring families and educators have access to the support they need.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 28.9%; rating input score 29
• Program expense ratio: 60.6%; rating input score 61
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

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: 68.4%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.45; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11.5%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 35.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings