Twin Cities Public Media Commons

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472050252
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2021
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512221717
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,087,500
Expenses
$12,617,896
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SYLVIA STROBEL (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SYLVIA STROBEL (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $578,196 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER SCHMIDT (TREASURER AND CFO): $231,632 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of twin cities public media commons (tcpmc) is to operate exclusively for charitable and educational purposes for the benefit of, to support the functions of, and to assist in carrying out the purposes of twin cities public television, inc., a Minnesota nonprofit corporation.

What it reported doing in 2021

Twin cities public media commons (tcpmc) handled the renewal and renovation project of twin cities public television's (tpt) 25-year old facility to support tpt's mission and strengthen tpt's connection to the communities they service. Tcpmc entered into a lease/use agreement with the city of saint paul to operate the land and building owned by tpt for the purpose of providing a broadcasting studio, media center, office headquarters and related facilities for public television. Tcmpc leases the premises to tpt for the purpose of providing public media services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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.

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 a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 11
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.7%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $495.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -38.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd 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: 0.5%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 49.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 63% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $578K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2015 to 2021
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.