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National Public Radio Inc

EIN 52-0907625 · Washington, DC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak43 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, INC. (NPR) COLLABORATES WITH MEMBER PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS TO CREATE A MORE INFORMED PUBLIC, ONE CHALLENGED AND INVIGORATED BY A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF EVENTS, IDEAS, AND CULTURES. NPR ADVANCES THIS MISSION BY PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING NONCOMMERCIAL PROGRAMMING THAT MEETS THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF JOURNALISM AND CULTURAL EXPRESSION, ADVOCATING FOR MEMBER STATIONS' SHARED INTERESTS, AND OPERATING THE SATELLITE INTERCONNECTION SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC RADIO.

Income
$354.1 million
Spending
$335.5 million
Spent on programs
65%
Reserves
-1.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 56%
Employees
1,236
Volunteers
25
Highest pay
$697,251, president & ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Weak: 43 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).

  • Reserves

    0 of 35

    Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 60% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 9% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    8 of 15

    65% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 31% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    23 of 24 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 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)
  1. $169.7 million spent. CONTENT PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION: FUNDING IN THIS CATEGORY SUPPORTS NPR'S NEWSROOM, PROGRAMMING, NPR MUSIC, AND ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES. AS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PRODUCER AND DISTRIBUTOR OF BROADCAST AND DIGITAL CONTENT, NPR REACHED A WEEKLY BROADCAST AUDIENCE OF 22.5 MILLION PEOPLE DURING THE TAX REPORTING PERIOD. CURRENTLY, 98.5% OF THE U.S. POPULATION RESIDES WITHIN THE LISTENING AREA OF ONE OR MORE STATIONS CARRYING NPR PROGRAMMING. NPR PRODUCES AND/OR DISTRIBUTES 22 BROADCAST PROGRAMS ACROSS NEWS, TALK, MUSIC, AND ENTERTAINMENT, AS WELL AS 24 PODCAST-ONLY PROGRAMS THAT ENGAGE AN AVERAGE OF 8.1 MILLION UNIQUE WEEKLY USERS. ADDITIONALLY, THE NPR APP HAS ONE MILLION WEEKLY USERS. BEYOND TERRESTRIAL RADIO, NPR PROGRAMMING IS DISTRIBUTED GLOBALLY VIA SATELLITE, HD RADIO, AND MEMBER STATION WEB STREAMS. NOTABLE PROGRAMS INCLUDE "MORNING EDITION," "WEEKEND EDITION," "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED," "FRESH AIR," "THE TED RADIO HOUR," "1A," "WAIT WAIT DON'T TELL ME!," "HERE & NOW," "BOOK OF THE DAY," "CODE SWITCH," "IT'S BEEN A MINUTE," "STORYCORPS," "PLANET MONEY," "LIFE KIT," "UP FIRST, AND 24-HOUR NPR NEWSCASTS.
  2. $35.7 million spent. NETWORK, DIGITAL, AND CONTENT SUPPORT: FUNDING IN THIS CATEGORY SUPPORTS NPR'S PRODUCT AUDIENCE TECHNOLOGY (PAT), CONTENT SUPPORT, AND MEMBER PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES. PAT CONTINUED NPR'S PUBLIC SERVICE BY OFFERING FREE CONTENT ACROSS WEB, MOBILE, AND THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS, REACHING APPROXIMATELY 42 MILLION USERS WEEKLY. THROUGH UNIFIED MOBILE APPS, NPR DELIVERED REAL-TIME NEWS, LIVE AUDIO AND VIDEO STREAMS, ON-DEMAND MEDIA, EXTENSIVE ARCHIVES, AND DIGITAL-EXCLUSIVE REPORTING. BEHIND THE SCENES, THE CONTENT SUPPORT TEAM MANAGED CRITICAL LOGISTICS FOR ALL REPORTING ACTIVITIES. THIS INCLUDED DEPLOYING EQUIPMENT AND SECURITY PACKAGES FOR TRAVELING JOURNALISTS, COORDINATING TRAVEL FOR BREAKING NEWS, CONDUCTING EDITORIAL RESEARCH, AND PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE FIELD, SOFTWARE, AND INTERNATIONAL BUREAU SUPPORT. FINALLY, THE MEMBER PARTNERSHIP TEAM COORDINATED SERVICES FOR NPR'S 244 MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH INCLUDE UNIVERSITIES, GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, AND COMMUNITY 501(C)(3)S. THESE MEMBERS OPERATE 1,035 PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS, PART OF A LARGER FOOTPRINT OF 1,101 TOTAL STATIONS BROADCASTING NPR PROGRAMMING. DRAWING UPON THE STRENGTH OF THE NETWORK, NPR COLLABORATES WITH MEMBER STATIONS ON NEWSGATHERING, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, FUNDRAISING, AND INDUSTRY REPRESENTATION.
  3. $12.7 million spent. DISTRIBUTION AND INTERCONNECTION: FUNDING IN THIS CATEGORY SUPPORTS EXPENSES INCURRED BY NPR'S DISTRIBUTION/INTERCONNECTION DIVISION, WHICH OPERATES AND MANAGES THE PUBLIC RADIO SATELLITE SYSTEM (PRSS), A COMBINED SATELLITE AND INTERNET DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR PUBLIC RADIO BROADCAST PROGRAMMING CONTENT. DELIVERING CONTENT PRODUCED BY NPR, MEMBER STATIONS, AND INDEPENDENT RADIO PRODUCERS, THE PRSS SERVES AS ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE ENTIRE PUBLIC MEDIA ECOSYSTEM. CRUCIALLY, IT REMAINS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR SIZE, INCOME, OR PROGRAMMING AFFILIATION. OPERATIONS AND ONGOING TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE SUPPORTED BY A COMBINATION OF CLIENT SERVICE FEES AND FEDERAL FUNDING PROVIDED THROUGH THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING, UNTIL ITS ORDERLY WIND-DOWN OF OPERATIONS IN JANUARY 2026.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since June 1971.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.