Channel 5 Public Broadcasting Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO ENTERTAIN YOUR CURIOSITY.
- Income
- $10.4 million
- Spending
- $7.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 54%
- Reserves
- 17.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 93%
- Employees
- 67
- Volunteers
- 100
- Highest pay
- $205,368, 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
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 17.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 30% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 61% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1554% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 17 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 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2520 of 21 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, 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)
- $2.4 million spent. SEE SCHEDULE OPBS RENO IS FULLY COMMITTED TO IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR OUR STATE. PBS RENO (5.1) AND PBS RENO PBS KIDS (5.3) FEATURE 207 HOURS PER WEEK OF NON-COMMERCIAL, NON-VIOLENT PROGRAMS THAT EDUCATE CHILDREN WHILE ENTERTAINING THEM AT THE SAME TIME. MOST OF THESE PROGRAMS HAVE FREE INTERACTIVE WEBSITES, FREE TABLET, AND SMARTPHONE APPS THAT ALLOW THE YOUNG ONES TO CONTINUE TO INTERACT WITH THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTERS BEYOND THE BROADCAST PROGRAM. PBS RENO CHILDREN'S CONTENT IS DESIGNED TO MEET DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMMON CORE STANDARDS. PBS RENO VIEWERS ENJOY DRAMATIC SERIES ON MASTERPIECE THAT INCLUDE ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL: MISS SCARLETT, AND ENDEAVOUR. AS USUAL, PBS WON MORE EMMY AWARDS THAN ANY OTHER NETWORK OR CABLE CHANNEL FAVORITES LIKE NOVA, NATURE, THIS OLD HOUSE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, PBS NEWSHOUR, AND OUR SATURDAY EVENING BRITISH COMEDIES AND MYSTERIES CONTINUE TO DELIGHT VIEWERS, OFFERING PROGRAMMING TYPES SIMPLY NOT FOUND ON OTHER CHANNELS. LOCALLY, OUR DRAMA LINE-UP INCLUDES THURSDAY NIGHT OFFERINGS OF FATHER BROWN AND OTHER MYSTERY OFFERINGS FOLLOWED WITH FRIDAY EVENINGS FEATURING MASTERPIECE. THE CHANNEL IS ALSO LIVESTREAMED ALLOWING VIEWERS ACCESS TO VIEW THE CHANNEL ANYWHERE ON ANY DEVICE. CHANNEL 5.2, RENO CREATE PROVIDES HOW-TO PROGRAMMING INCLUDING SERIES AND SPECIALS ON COOKING, TRAVEL, ARTS AND CRAFTS, GARDENING, HOME IMPROVEMENT AND OTHER LIFESTYLE INTERESTS. THIS CHANNEL IS THE FIRST OF THE ADDITIONAL DIGITAL CHANNELS IN THE MARKET TO QUALIFY FOR INCLUSION IN THE NIELSEN RATINGS. CREATE 5.2 IS ALSO LIVESTREAMED. OUR 3RD CHANNEL 5.3, PBS KIDS RENO ALSO QUALIFIES FOR INCLUSION IN THE NIELSEN RATINGS. PBS RENO IS THE FIRST AND ONLY BROADCASTER IN THIS MARKET TO HAVE ALL THREE MULTICAST CHANNELS REPORTING SIMULTANEOUSLY. CHANNEL 5.3, PBS KIDS RENO PROVIDES PBS CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING ON A 24/7/365 BASIS. SINCE THE CHANNEL IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE OVER THE AIR, FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN ANYWHERE IN OUR REGION CAN ACCESS THE HIGH QUALITY, EDUCATION-BASED, NON-VIOLENT AND NON-VULGAR PROGRAMMING AT ANY TIME. PBS RENO MAKES CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH VARIOUS DIGITAL PLATFORMS, INCLUDING TWO YOUTUBE TV CHANNELS, ONE YOUTUBE CHANNEL, HULU+ LIVETV, ROKU, SOCIAL MEDIA (INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, FACEBOOK, X, LINKEDIN), AND THE PBS RENO WEBSITE (PBSRENO.ORG).
- $965,734 spent. SEE SCHEDULE OIN THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, PBS RENO EDUCATION SERVICES CONDUCTED 6,794 CURIOSITY CLASSROOM WORKSHOPS FOR PRE-K THROUGH 4TH GRADE CHILDREN THROUGHOUT NINE COUNTIES IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA: WASHOE, CARSON, DOUGLAS, HUMBOLDT, LYON, ELKO, STOREY, WHITE PINE, AND EL DORADO. THESE WORKSHOPS ACCOUNTED FOR 128,087 INTERACTIONS WITH AREA STUDENTS. IN ADDITION, 47,314 BOOKS WERE DISTRIBUTED TO PARTICIPATING STUDENTS TO HELP BUILD THEIR HOME LIBRARY. EACH WORKSHOP IS LED BY A CERTIFIED FACILITATOR WHO USES A PBS VIDEO, A READ ALOUD, AND A FUN HANDS ON ACTIVITY TO ENCOURAGE STEM LITERACY-BASED LEARNING. PBS RENO'S EDUCATION WORKSHOPS ARE AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC, PRIVATE, PAROCHIAL, CHARTER, AND HOMESCHOOLS. PBS RENO OFFERED THE ANNUAL PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST FOR CHILDREN IN GRADES K-3 AND RECEIVED 3,206 ENTRIES IN MARCH 2025. WINNING STORIES WERE SHOWN AT THE ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY AND RECORDED FOR ON-AIR BROADCAST AND ONLINE. THE WINNING STORIES WERE ALSO ON DISPLAY AT THE RENOWN CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN CARSON CITY. PBS RENO FOR FAMILIES PROVIDES A CURATED COLLECTION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY, NATURE, THE OUTDOORS, LIBRARIES AND LEARNING, AND FAMILY FUN. THE PBS RENO FOR FAMILIES PAGE PROVIDES FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES AND LINKS TO PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, LIKE PARENT UNIVERSITY AT THE WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
- $621,374 spent. SEE SCHEDULE OARTEFFECTS: PBS RENO DEBUTED SEASON 11 OF ARTEFFECTS, A WEEKLY SERIES THAT EXPLORES THE VIBRANT ARTS AND CULTURAL SCENE IN NORTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA. ALL LOCALLY PRODUCED SEGMENTS ARE PROVIDED TO THE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR. TO DATE, 167 PBS RENO SEGMENTS HAVE AIRED AROUND THE COUNTRY ON PARTICIPATING PBS MEMBER STATIONS. WILD NEVADA: HOST CHRIS ORR PRODUCED SEASON 8, HIGHLIGHTING NEW RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN NEVADA. PRODUCTION BEGAN IN APRIL 2025 AND CONTINUED INTO FY 2026. THESE 13 EPISODES COVERED TOPICS LIKE THE CARSON RIVER CORRIDOR, E.T. HIGHWAY, PONY EXPRESS TRAIL AND MORE. DAVE SANTINA HOSTS WILD NEVADACAST, A WEEKLY PODCAST SERIES BASED ON THE TELEVISION SERIES. PBS RENO STEM WORKS: STEM WORKS DIGITAL SHORT VIDEOS OFFER A FUN, FRESH LOOK AT CAREERS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS. THE VIDEOS ARE GEARED TOWARD KIDS AGED 9-17 BUT ARE ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE FOR ALL AGES. THESE VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND ON-AIR. PBS RENO PRODUCES A WEEKLY PODCAST SERIES BASED ON OUR VIBRANT ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMUNITY, HOSTED BY DAVE SANTINA. ARTVIEWS IS A WEEKLY ARTS COLUMN AUTHORED BY A ROTATING GROUP OF LEADERS IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY. THE WEEKLY ARTICLES AND PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. ADDITIONALLY, IN 2025 PBS RENO BEGAN PRODUCTION ON A NEW 3 PART DOCUMENTARY SERIES CATHOLICS ON THE COMSTOCK WHICH WILL PREMIERE IN 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
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 September 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 March 1983.
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.