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KITE'S NEST INC
HUDSON, NY · EIN 460954848 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE S99 · Community Improvement · Medium ($1M-$10M) · kitesnest.org
revenue
$1.4M
expenses
$1.0M
net assets
$3.3M
employees
44
volunteers
50
program ratio
69%
mission · from form 990

KITES NEST IS A CENTER FOR LIBERATORY EDUCATION IN HUDSON NY. IT IS OUR MISSION TO BUILD THE COLLECTIVE CAPACITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO BRING ABOUT PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION, SOCIAL CONNECTION, HEALING, AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE. WE CREATE YOUTH-CENTERED SPACES OF RADICAL IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY, AND SUPPORT YOUTH-LED MOVEMENTS FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE THAT TRANSFORM THE CONDITIONS IMPACTING YOUNG PEOPLE'S LIVES. OUR PROGRAMS ENGAGE EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION, THE ARTS, MEANINGFUL JOB TRAINING, AND CIVIC ACTION AS TOOLS FOR BUILDING COMMUNITY POWER.

profile · synthesized from sources

KITE'S NEST INC is a community-based organization in Hudson, NY focused on liberatory education for young people. It creates youth-centered spaces that combine experiential learning, the arts, and civic action to foster personal transformation, healing, and systemic change. The organization emphasizes radical imagination, social-emotional learning, and youth-led movements for equity and justice.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

LGBTQool Kids of Columbia County
Youth-led group founded by a Kite’s Nest participant to promote inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth and foster community belonging.
ReGen Teens
Youth program focused on environmental justice, land stewardship, food sovereignty, and entrepreneurship through community gardening and composting initiatives.
Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA)
Summer program for youth aged 13+ that combines political education, art and media creation, healing practices, and youth-led organizing to build movements for justice and equity.
activities · 6 groups

What they do

  • Youth Leadership Development Programs 3 activities
    • Build community capacity through participatory design and training
      Co-leads community-driven initiatives like the Raising Places project to develop youth-centered solutions to systemic issues including gentrification, policing, and transportation. Provides trainings in restorative justice and race equity for educators and social service providers, and supports agencies in adopting healing-centered practices.
    • Run the Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA)
      Leads an immersive summer and year-round youth leadership program that combines political education, storytelling, performance, and organizing to build critical consciousness, leadership skills, and intergenerational movement-building among teens. Includes public presentations of youth-led campaigns at the end of each session.
    • Support youth advocacy and civic engagement
      Engages youth in statewide advocacy campaigns and policy development on housing justice, climate change, immigrant rights, transgender student protections, and public transportation. Encourages public awareness actions and community organizing as part of leadership development.
  • Youth Workforce Development in Food & Environment 2 activities
    • Provide paid youth employment and fellowship opportunities
      Offers paid employment, job training, and fellowships for youth ages 14–24 in environmental justice, the arts, community organizing, and entrepreneurial development. Programs include teen-run composting and bike-powered smoothie businesses, with support for teen facilitators and peer mentoring.
    • Run the ReGen Teens environmental entrepreneurship program
      Supports teens in running green businesses through the ReGen Teens program, including a monthly subscription-based compost service (ReGen Compost Project) and a bike-powered smoothie business. Combines land stewardship, urban gardening, composting, and site restoration with entrepreneurial development.
  • School-Based Mental Health and Family Support 1 activity
    • Deliver healing-centered mental health support to youth
      Provides one-on-one counseling, coaching, and trauma-informed care through the Starr Seed Healing Project to help youth process grief and build collective resilience. Integrates access to therapy and healing services for teen employees and participants.
  • Horticultural Education and Community Gardening 1 activity
    • Operate River City Garden as a community and educational space
      Manages the River City Garden at 59 N. Front Street as a public community garden, outdoor classroom, and site for sustainability education, serving low-income and immigrant families. Hosts educational work days, farm visits, and peer exchanges with youth in the Hudson Valley.
  • Comprehensive Student Enrichment Programs 1 activity
    • Operate youth-centered educational and leadership programs
      Offers project-based daytime, afterschool, school break, and summer programs for youth ages 7–15 focused on social-emotional development, critical thinking, arts, nature-based learning, and civic engagement. Includes weekly Garden Club and arts workshops, nature hikes, and skill-building in urban gardening, woodworking, digital journalism, and wild food identification.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Conduct community-based participatory research
      Conducted the Listening Project in 2013, a year-long oral history initiative to document diverse learning experiences in Hudson and identify community strengths and assets for youth development.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.38M
Contributions & grants$1.25M91%
Program service revenue$21K2%
Investment income$105K8%
Other revenue$-2K
expenses
Total expenses$1.01M
Program expenses69%
Admin / overhead18%
Fundraising14%
Salaries & benefits$652K
Grants paid out$12K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$3.77M
Cash$1.23M
Investments$619K
Liabilities$437K
Net assets$3.33M
Liquid reserves21.9 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -22.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
KAYA WEIDMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $79K
board members · 6
  • GREGG OSOFSKY — TREASURER AND VP
  • KAMAURU JOHNSON — BOARD MEMBER
  • KRISTINA WERTZ — BOARD MEMBER
  • LISA ARRASTIA — BOARD PRESIDENT
  • SONJA OKUN — SECRETARY
  • TANUSHRI KUMAR — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 17

Who they work with

  • Brotherhood Sister Sol Partner — Collaborates on youth development and organizing programming.
  • Claire Cousin Partner — Co-facilitator of the SJLA Paid Fellowship program.
  • Columbia County Sanctuary Movement Partner — Collaborates with Kite's Nest in supporting youth organizing and movement-building efforts.
  • Enrique Rivera Partner — Co-facilitator of the SJLA Paid Fellowship program.
  • Found Sound Nation Partner — Works with Kite's Nest on music and media-making components of youth programming.
  • Hudson Muslim Youth Partner — Partner group involved in shared youth art and organizing initiatives.
  • LGBTQool Kids of Columbia County Partner — Youth-led group co-founded by a Kite's Nest participant and supported by the organization to promote inclusion and acceptance.
  • New York State Council on the Arts Government — Funds arts-based afterschool and out-of-school-time programs through grant support.
  • Promise Neighborhood Partner — Co-convened the Raising Places community planning initiative to design solutions for youth and family well-being in Hudson.
  • Soul Fire Farm Partner — Engaged in land-based education and healing practices with youth participants.
  • Staley B. Keith Social Justice Center Partner — Collaborative partner in founding the Social Justice Leadership Academy and developing youth leadership programs.
  • Starr Seed Partner — Collaborates to provide therapy and healing-centered services for teen employees.
  • WGXC 90.7-FM Partner — Kaya Weidman co-founded this local community radio station, indicating a historical and possibly ongoing organizational connection.
  • Wild Gather Partner — Partner in youth arts and community engagement initiatives.
  • Wildseed Partner — Partner organization engaged in youth programming and community organizing collaborations.
  • Youth FX Partner — Collaborates on media projects and youth organizing efforts.
  • local farms Partner — ReGen Teens visits local farms to deepen land stewardship skills and connect with regional food justice efforts.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Healing-Centered, Joy-Driven Pedagogy
    methodology: healing_centered_engagement
    By integrating healing, joy, and creativity into education, we produce sustained engagement and personal transformation because these elements counteract trauma and burnout, making space for self-discovery and radical imagination in justice work.
  • Integrated Land- and Arts-Based Liberation
    methodology: integrated_land_and_arts_pedagogy
    By combining land-based practices like food sovereignty and wild plant knowledge with arts-based expression and political education, we produce holistic youth development because these integrated experiences connect identity, ecology, and justice in transformative ways.
  • Self-Directed, Community-Embedded Learning
    methodology: learner_driven_community_based_learning
    By allowing youth to direct their own learning within a community-as-classroom model, we produce deeper engagement and meaningful development because autonomy rooted in real-world context fosters ownership, relevance, and interdependence.
  • Youth-Led Liberation Education
    methodology: youth_led_liberation_education
    By centering youth voice and leadership in creative, experiential, and political learning, we produce personal and systemic transformation because youth-led movements foster critical consciousness, agency, and collective power to challenge inequities.