Twin Cities Public Television Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF TWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION, INC. (TPT) IS TO ENRICH LIVES AND STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THE POWER OF MEDIA.SEE SCHEDULE O FOR CONTINUATION.
- Income
- $50.8 million
- Spending
- $46.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 73%
- Reserves
- 16 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 69%
- Employees
- 266
- Volunteers
- 89
- Highest pay
- $659,344, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 95 out of 100. Higher than 83% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 16.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 6% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 9% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1573% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 16 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 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 2532 of 33 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 August 31, 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)
- $31.0 million spent. TPT PRODUCES AND ACQUIRES TELEVISION PROGRAMMING FOR DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL AND NATIONAL AUDIENCES. IN 2025, TPT BROADCAST MORE THAN 43,800 HOURS OF PROGRAMMING TO LOCAL AUDIENCES THROUGH FIVE OVER-THE-AIR TELEVISION CHANNELS (TPT 2, TPT LIFE, TPT MN, TPT NOW, AND TPT KIDS) AND NEARLY 8,760 HOURS OF PROGRAMMING TO AUDIENCES ACROSS MINNESOTA VIA THE STATEWIDE MINNESOTA CHANNEL TELEVISION SERVICE. TPT PRODUCES A NUMBER OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE LONGEST-RUNNING PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOW IN MINNESOTA (ALMANAC), A LOCAL MUSIC AND ARTS PERFORMANCE SERIES (STAGE), A 24/7/365 STATEWIDE HEALTH AND SAFETY CHANNEL REACHING ENGLISH, SPANISH, HMONG, AND SOMALI SPEAKING AUDIENCES (TPT NOW), A SERIES ABOUT MINNESOTA HISTORY (MINNESOTA EXPERIENCE), AND A LOCAL FOOD SERIES (RELISH). TPT PRODUCES SEVERAL PROGRAMS FOR NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION, INCLUDING SKILLSVILLE, WHICH HAS GARNERED MILLIONS OF STREAMS NATIONWIDE. FOR ITS ORIGINAL PROGRAMS, TPT PRODUCES ACCOMPANYING MEDIA-ENRICHED CURRICULAR RESOURCES, WHICH ARE NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED ON PBS LEARNING MEDIA, REACHING TWO MILLION EDUCATORS ANNUALLY.
- $2.7 million spent. TPT OPERATES FIVE FREE OVER-THE-AIR BROADCAST TELEVISION CHANNELS PROVIDING A MIX OF LOCALLY PRODUCED PROGRAMS AND NATIONAL PBS CONTENT. REGULARLY SCHEDULED TPT-PRODUCED PROGRAMS INCLUDE A PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOW ALMANAC; A SERIES ABOUT MINNESOTA'S DIVERSE HISTORY, MINNESOTA EXPERIENCE; A LOCAL FOOD SHOW, RELISH; AND A MUSIC AND ARTS PERFORMANCE SERIES, STAGE. TPT'S PROGRAM SERVICES ALSO INCORPORATE THE PRODUCTIONS THAT TPT CREATES FOR NATIONAL PUBLIC TELEVISION DISTRIBUTED BY PBS AND APT, INCLUDING SCIGIRLS, HERO ELEMENTARY, AMERICA OUTDOORS WITH BARATUNDE THURSTON, ART + MEDICINE, AND SKILLSVILLE. THE FIVE CHANNELS ARE: 1) TPT 2, THE FLAGSHIP CHANNEL THAT FEATURES THE BEST OF PBS PROGRAMMING WITH ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS AND SERIES PRODUCED OR ACQUIRED BY TPT TO SERVE LOCAL AUDIENCE NEEDS. TPT 2 AVERAGES 4.7 MILLION VIEWS PER MONTH. 2) TPT LIFE, WHICH IS A GENERAL AUDIENCE CHANNEL SHOWING THE BEST OF LIFESTYLE, CURRENT AFFAIRS, AND DRAMA PROGRAMMING. TPT LIFE AVERAGES 1.5 MILLION VIEWS PER MONTH. 3) TPT MN IS THE HOME OF THE MINNESOTA CHANNEL, A 24-HOUR LOCAL SERVICE INCLUDING COVERAGE OF THE MINNESOTA STATE LEGISLATURE WHEN IT IS IN SESSION EACH YEAR (2,680 HOURS IN 2025). ADDITIONALLY, TPT MN PROVIDES 6,080 BROADCAST HOURS OF PROGRAMMING ABOUT MINNESOTA INCLUDING ITS PEOPLE, HERITAGE, CULTURES, AND HISTORY. THIS CHANNEL IS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE STATE VIA THE MINNESOTA PUBLIC TELEVISION ASSOCIATION TO AIR ON ALL PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS SERVICING MINNESOTA VIEWERS. THE MN CHANNEL AVERAGES 418,000 VIEWS PER MONTH. 4) TPT KIDS IS A 24/7 CHANNEL FOR MINNESOTA CHILDREN, OFFERING THE PBS KIDS NATIONAL PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE, WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING VIEWERS AGES 2-8 AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH STANDARDS-ALIGNED LITERACY, ARTS, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, AND STEM LEARNING. OUR LOCAL KIDS' CHANNEL AVERAGES 1.5 MILLION VIEWS PER MONTH. 5) TPT NOW DELIVERS REAL-TIME WEATHER, HEALTH, SAFETY, AND EMERGENCY ALTERS INFORMATION IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, HMONG, AND SOMALI LANGUAGES ON BROADCAST AND STREAMING PLATFORMS. A PARTNERSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT AND OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES, TPT NOW'S MISSION IS TO DEVELOP AND DISTRIBUTE CULTURALLY RELEVANT INFORMATION SO MORE MINNESOTANS ARE HEALTHY, SAFE, AND READY TO RESPOND WHEN NATURAL OR PLANNED DISASTERS OCCUR.
- $219,380 spent. TWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION OPERATES A SERIES OF WEBSITES THAT AVERAGE 659,396 PAGEVIEWS PER MONTH. TPT MAINTAINS AN EXTENSIVE ONLINE COLLECTION OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND VIDEO SEGMENTS, OFFERING MANY FREE SHOWS TO STREAM ON THE PBS APP. IT ALSO DELIVERS ORIGINAL CONTENT AND CONNECTS WITH COMMUNITIES ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS INCLUDING YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, THREADS, LINKEDIN, AND TIKTOK.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending August 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1958.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.