Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The AETFA's sole purpose is to provide funding support for Alabama Public Television (APT); therefore, it fully embraces the stated mission of APT. In summary, APT is committed to enrich the lives of Alabama citizens by providing essential educational services with the highest quality direct instructional content through digital streaming; by acting as an indispensable resource of Alabama's Storyteller; by promoting Alabama to the world as a unique community postured for business and growth; by working closely with Homeland Security and state agencies to provide a statewide network to disseminate information effectively in times of disaster; by bringing the very best in the world of music, theater, dance and the arts to enrich and inspire the lives of the people of our state; and by offering programming that educates the citizenry, giving them the means and the desire to reach their highest potential through the development of a strong work ethic bonded to honesty and integrity.
- Income
- $9.2 million
- Spending
- $7.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 76%
- Reserves
- 15.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 53%
- Employees
- 72
- Volunteers
- 25
- Highest pay
- $220,506, interim executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 15.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 6% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 16% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 10% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1576% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 26 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 11 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 September 30, 2024, 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)
- $1.4 million spent. Education Services:1. Alabama Public Television (APT) facilitates student learning in a variety of ways. In FY 2024, more than 565 parents, teachers and administrators serving more than 77,180 children attended APT K-12 workshops, conferences, and trainings, many of which were offered virtually. 2. Early Childhood LearningAETFA, through its employed team of trainers and those of partner organizations previously trained by AETFA staff, conducted workshops for educators and parents of children ages birth to eight throughout the state of Alabama. The workshops demonstrated ways to incorporate PBS children's programming, broadcast by APT or available for streaming on the APT website, into comprehensive learning experiences that also included reading and other activities related to the content. APT and our partners led 368 "face-to face" trainings for 3,551 participants, impacting an estimated 44,077 children in FY 2024. APT's on-demand courses had 12,391 successful completions that will impact 332,929 children.
- $2.7 million spent. Programming and Broadcast Delivery:1. APT leases the majority of its content for television from the Public Broadcast System (PBS) and is a member affiliate of this distributor. APT also leases a smaller amount of its content needs from various other distributors. The AETFA assists directly with purchasing a portion of these costs which exceeded $3.5 million in fiscal 2024.2. APT leases the majority of its content for its FM-public radio station (WLRH) located in Huntsville from National Public Radio (NPR) and several other distributors. The AETFA assists directly with purchasing a portion of these costs which approached $310,000 in fiscal 2024.3. The engineering, utility, technical and equipment costs of broadcasting television signals over the entire state on a 24 hour-7 day basis well exceeded $2.5 million in fiscal 2023 including that of WLRH-FM. The AETFA assists with paying for these expenses by purchasing needed equipment and paying vendor invoices directly when the state appropriation has been exhausted for the year.4. APT's association and membership in nationally recognized content distributors such as PBS and NPR provide viewers and listeners in the state with quality, commercial free television and radio that they depend on as a trusted source for educational content value and entertainment integrity.
- $1.8 million spent. Production:1. AETFA assists with the funding needs of APT to produce television programs on a local level. Such programs include Capitol Journal, Spotlight on Education, Subcarrier, Monograph and documentary specials including Shuttlesworth.2. APT and WLRH-FM continue to receive awards for locally produced television and radio programming along with educational content produced for the web. Through 2023, the programming and production efforts have received a combined 40 Southeastern Regional Emmy Awards, 112 Telly Awards, 2 National Cine Awards, 3 Edward R Murrow Awards, 29 Alabama Broadcasters Association Awards, 14 National Educational Telecommunication Association Awards, and 1 National Association of Broadcasters' Service to America's Children Award.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, 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 September 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 April 1985.
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.
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.