Youth Radio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943180825
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5102511101
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,727,775
Expenses
$6,070,119
Assets
$3,721,928
Liabilities
$4,003,383

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kyra Kyles (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kyra Kyles (Chief Executive Officer): $171,886 total reported compensation
  • Rodney Butler (Chief Financial & Administrative Officer): $127,329 total reported compensation
  • Rebecca Martin (Director of Partnerships): $100,595 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Youth radio dba yr media is an award-winning media production company that trains a group of diverse young people in digital media and technology. Partnering with industry professionals, students learn to produce marketable media for massive audiences while bringing youth perspectives to issues of public interest and concern. Through yr media, young people transform their lives, communities, and the national conversation. By bringing national scale to yr media's proven model of youth engagement and media production training, yr media will dramatically expand opportunities for young people from historically marginalized communities (low income youth and youth of color) to challenge conventional narratives, reach and influence significant audiences, and achieve lasting change in their own lives and in their communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Digital media and technology education: yr media educates 14-24 year olds from traditionally underresourced and underrepresented communities in areas including media, music, and technology. Yr media students engage in six months of intensive media and technical education and on-the-job training. In the first three months of training, students survey journalism, audio/music production and multimedia skills. Students who advance to the second three months of training, focus on a single track for the session, and graduate with a final project and polished resume. Upon completion of six months of paid training, students are eligible for paid internships within one of yr media's programs/departments. Interns work alongside industry professionals to polish their skill sets in production, tech and engineering, media education, or administration. Working together, they hone their professional skills. Interns are hired through a competitive application process and complete either a three- or six-month employment opportunity. Currently, yr media provides media education and employment opportunities to more than 250 young people annually.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.8%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 61.2%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -62.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.08; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.8% of revenue deployed · 61.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.