Public Television 19 Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO BROADCAST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PRODUCE AND DISTRIBUTE INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS TO KANSAS AND MISSOURI SCHOOLS, AND TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND LITERATURE TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH PROGRAMMING.
- Income
- $24.2 million
- Spending
- $12.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 69%
- Reserves
- 20.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 44%
- Employees
- 73
- Volunteers
- 192
- Highest pay
- $455,686, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 84% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 20.5 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 17% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 50% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 80% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1569% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 15 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 23 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $3.9 million spent. EDUCATION OUTREACH IN FY25, OUR STATION CONTINUED TO DEEPEN ITS COMMITMENT TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, LITERACY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT BY PARTNERING WITH LOCAL NONPROFITS, SCHOOLS, AND FAMILIES ACROSS THE KANSAS CITY REGION. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE ASSISTED A WIDE RANGE OF ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPANDED ACCESS TO HIGHQUALITY PBS EDUCATIONAL CONTENT, HANDSON LEARNING RESOURCES, AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES. ONE OF OUR MOST IMPACTFUL COLLABORATIONS WAS WITH THE FAMILY CONSERVANCY, WHERE WE HOSTED FOUR EARLYCHILDHOOD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS. EACH SESSION REACHED AN AVERAGE OF 35-40 EDUCATORS FROM CHILDCARE CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, STRENGTHENING EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR HUNDREDS OF LOCAL CHILDREN. WE ALSO SUPPORTED NUMEROUS COMMUNITY EVENTS DESIGNED TO PUT BOOKS AND PBS RESOURCES DIRECTLY IN THE HANDS OF FAMILIES. AT THE "BREW FOR BOOKS" EVENT, WE DONATED 50 BOOKS TO SUPPORT EARLY LITERACY EFFORTS. THROUGH MARC'S HEAD START FAMILY FUN FEST, OUR TEAM CONTRIBUTED APPROXIMATELY 50 BOOKS AND PARENT FOLDERS TO HELP FAMILIES BUILD LITERACY-RICH HOME ENVIRONMENTS. DURING A HANTHORNE EARLY CHILDHOOD PARENT MEETING, WE DISTRIBUTED 30 PARENT FOLDERS AND 48 CHILDREN'S BOOK BAGS, FURTHER EXTENDING OUR OUTREACH TO FAMILIES OF YOUNG LEARNERS. ACROSS THE REGION'S HEAD START PROGRAMS, OUR PRESENCE HELPED REINFORCE THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY LEARNING. WE PROVIDED PBS RESOURCES TO YMCA HEAD START (18 ATTENDEES), PARK HILL HEAD START (12 ATTENDEES), AND THE FREIDA MARKLEY EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER, WHERE WE ENGAGED WITH 15 PRE-K STUDENTS AND FOUR ADULTS IN THE CLASSROOM. OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL LIBRARIES REMAINED STRONG AS WELL. TWO MID-CONTINENT PUBLIC LIBRARY LOCATIONS HOSTED COMMUNITY SCREENINGS OF CARL THE COLLECTOR, DRAWING AUDIENCES OF 49 AND 54 PARTICIPANTS RESPECTIVELY. ADDITIONALLY, WE SUPPLIED 65 BOOKS AND PBS FOLDERS TO KINDERGARTENERS AT KING ELEMENTARY, AND PREPARED PBS SWAG AND LEARNING MATERIALS FOR 100 FAMILIES ATTENDING THE NORTH KANSAS CITY EARLY CHILDHOOD FAIR. IF INCLUDED, OUR SCHOOL-BASED LITERACY EFFORTS EXPANDED OUR IMPACT EVEN FURTHER. FIVE SCHOOLS ACROSS THE KANSAS CITY, MO SCHOOL DISTRICT AND ST. AGNES CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARTICIPATED IN TWO PBS LITERACY PROGRAMS, REACHING 13 CLASSROOMS AND PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH 2,505 BOOKS TO TAKE HOME, STRENGTHENING HOME LIBRARIES AND FOSTERING LIFELONG READING HABITS. FINALLY, OUR OUTREACH EXTENDED TO HOMESCHOOLING FAMILIES. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY, WE INTRODUCED PBS LEARNINGMEDIA TO HOMESCHOOL COMMUNITIES, CONNECTING PARENTS WITH TRUSTED, HIGH-QUALITY DIGITAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION AT HOME. COLLECTIVELY, THESE INITIATIVES REFLECT OUR ONGOING DEDICATION TO MEETING FAMILIES WHERE THEY ARE SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, HOMES AND COMMUNITY SPACESAND ENSURING THAT EVERY CHILD HAS ACCESS TO THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO LEARN, GROW AND THRIVE.
- $3.4 million spent. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT FY25, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM WORKED TIRELESSLY TO STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH VIEWERS AND FOSTER LEARNING, CURIOSITY AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION ACROSS THE REGION. THIS YEAR MARKED THE LAUNCH OF OUR FIRST-EVER REEL BLACK FILM FEST, A CELEBRATION OF BLACK FILMMAKERS THAT CREATED SPACE FOR LOCAL STORIES, ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND CULTURAL CONVERSATION. WE ALSO HOSTED OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL "BE MY NEIGHBOR DAY" TO DATE, AN ANNUAL FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENT CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE YMCA. NEARLY 800 ATTENDEES JOINED US FOR A DAY OF LEARNING, KINDNESS AND HANDS-ON FUN INSPIRED BY DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, KCPBS HELD SCREENINGS FOR ALL NEW LOCAL PRODUCTIONS, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUDIENCES TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH FILMMAKERS, HISTORIANS AND JOURNALISTS. WE ALSO ORGANIZED FOUR TOWN HALL CONVERSATIONS, CONVENING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO DISCUSS ISSUES SHAPING THE FUTURE OF OUR REGION.
- $1.1 million spent. CONTENT & PROGRAMMING IN FY25, KCPBS CONTINUED DELIVERING HIGHQUALITY, TRUSTED PROGRAMMING 24 HOURS A DAY ACROSS FOUR BROADCAST CHANNELS, WHILE EXPANDING OUR DIGITALFIRST CONTENT, WRITTEN REPORTING, AND COMMUNITY-FOCUSED ENGAGEMENT. WE MARKED A MAJOR MILESTONE WITH THE 20TH SEASON OF KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW, UNVEILING A REFRESHED SET AND UPDATED ONAIR LOOK TO CELEBRATE TWO DECADES OF INSIGHTFUL LOCAL JOURNALISM. OUR TEAM CONTRIBUTED TO A NATIONAL CAREGIVING DOCUMENTARY BY PRODUCING A COMPLEMENTARY MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE THAT HIGHLIGHTED LOCAL STORIES, RESOURCES, AND THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUALS CARING FOR LOVED ONES ACROSS THE REGION. WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH LOCAL FILMMAKER SOLOMON SHIELDS TO AMPLIFY THE POWERFUL VOICES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AND THE LASTING IMPACT THOSE INJUSTICES HAVE HAD ON THEIR LIVES. KCPBS SUPPORTED LOCAL VOTERS THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE ELECTION COVERAGE, INCLUDING THE JOHNSON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DEBATE, THE JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR DEBATE, AND THE KANSAS 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DEBATE, ENSURING ACCESSIBLE AND EQUITABLE INFORMATION FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION. WE CONTINUED TO BRING IMPORTANT LOCAL HISTORY TO LIGHT THROUGH NEW PREMIERES. THE POTATO KING SHARED THE REMARKABLE STORY OF JUNIUS GROVES, A MAN BORN INTO SLAVERY WHO ROSE TO BECOME A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AGRICULTURAL INNOVATOR AND MILLIONAIRE. WINNING THE WAR: TRUMAN, EISENHOWER AND THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY UNDERSCORED KANSAS CITY'S VITAL CONNECTION TO THE END OF WORLD WAR II. WE ALSO HONORED THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CARTER BROADCAST GROUP WITH DIAMOND JUBILEE, CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST INFLUENTIAL BLACKOWNED MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS. OUR TEAM PREMIERED LAND OF OPPORTUNITY II, A FOLLOWUP TO OUR EXAMINATION OF RACIAL HOUSING INEQUITY IN THE SANTA FE NEIGHBORHOOD. THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES THE DEEP, LASTING EFFECTS OF THE HIGHWAY 71 PROJECT ON KANSAS CITY'S URBAN COMMUNITIES, CONTINUING OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITYCENTERED STORYTELLING.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 1971.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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