Virginia Center for Public Press

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541589570
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
Richmond, VA, USA
Phone
8046229747
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$191,006
Expenses
$164,612
Assets
$786,281
Liabilities
$285,514

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELISSA VAUGHN (PRESIDENT (LEFT 06/30/25))
  • BRIDE BAKER (PRESIDENT (BEGAN 06/30/25))
  • BRADLEY STABLER (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MELISSA VAUGHN (PRESIDENT (LEFT 06/30/25))
  • BRIDE BAKER (PRESIDENT (BEGAN 06/30/25))
  • BRADLEY STABLER (VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Vcpp operates wrir 97.3 lpfm, a community low power fm radio station serving citizens of the city of richmond, Virginia, and surrounding counties. The station covers a listening area of approximately 5-7 miles. Wrir broadcasts news, views and music that would otherwise be unrepresented on public airwaves. The programming schedule covers seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with very few exceptions. News and talk programming is broadcast monday through friday 8am to 1pm. Music programming is broadcast during the rest of the broadcast week.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wrir-lp 97.3 fm is a true community radio station. Wrir is a nonprofit, locally owned, powered by volunteers and driven by the conviction that all voices deserve to be heard. Wrir airs underrepresented music, news and views in order to provide a platform for cultural diversity in richmond, Virginia. Wrir-lp 97.3 fm is managed entirely by volunteers. Twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, a wrir volunteer is at the station producing the live radio program you hear on air. Wrir-lp 97.3 fm welcomes the area's non-profits, artists, newsmakers and community services as guests on our shows. Every day a wrir-produced program features a local voice or artist. When people listen to wrir-lp from around the world, they are learning about richmond's people, arts and culture. Nearly all of wrir's programs are produced in our studio.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.9%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 71.8%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.8%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.78; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.9% of revenue deployed · 71.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $118K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.