irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2020
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $142KVOTEBEAT/REPORTING ON ELECTION INTEGRITY:IN 2020, CHALKBEAT EXPANDED ITS LOCAL NEWS REPORTING BY LAUNCHING THE "POP UP NEWSROOM" VOTEBEAT PROVIDING INDEPENDENT NONPARTISAN COVERAGE OF ELECTION INTEGRITY IN EIGHT LOCATIONS AROUND THE UNITED STATES. DURING VOTEBEAT'S PILOT AS A THREE-MONTH NEWS PROJECT AMID THE 2020 ELECTION, VOTEBEAT SCALED TO 15 REPORTERS IN 10 NEWSROOMS ACROSS EIGHT STATES. VOTEBEAT'S MOST POPULAR ARTICLES HAVE BEEN READ BY 20,000 TO 85,000 PEOPLE EACH, AND ITS TOP ARTICLES HAVE BEEN REPRINTED THOUSANDS OF TIMES. VOTEBEAT PUBLISHED OVER 300 ARTICLES ABOUT A HUGE RANGE OF ISSUES AND NEWS DEVELOPMENTS IN EIGHT STATES, INCLUDING: "VOTING LAWSUITS; "BARRIERS TO THE BALLOT BOX FOR MARGINALIZED VOTERS; "NEW VOTE-BY-MAIL PROCESSES; "POLL WORKER SHORTAGES; "VOTER INTIMIDATION; "THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON VOTING; "FACTS ABOUT VOTING MACHINES; "BALLOT-COUNTING AND RESULTS-REPORTING LOGISTICS; "BALLOT RECOUNTS, CANVASSING, AND AUDITING; "HARASSMENT OF ELECTION WORKERS; "VOTER TURNOUT; AND "THE TRUTH ABOUT FABRICATED VOTE-FRAUD CLAIMS."VOTEBEAT PARTNERED WITH 10 LOCAL NEWS OUTLETS INCLUDING THREE RADIO STATIONS TO EDIT AND PUBLISH THE WORK. THE PILOT'S JOURNALISM WAS REPUBLISHED ON MORE THAN 100 LOCAL NEWS SITES AND NATIONAL NETWORKS. JOURNALISTS WERE INTERVIEWED FOR TV OR RADIO NEWS SPOTS.VOTEBEAT'S REPORTING HAS INFORMED DEBATES AT STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE LEVELS, AND HAS GENERATED DISCUSSION AMONG COUNTY OFFICIALS ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT ELECTIONS. VOTERS HAVE ALSO RELIED ON VOTEBEAT'S JOURNALISM TO FACT-CHECK FALSE CLAIMS OF VOTE FRAUD AND ELECTION MANIPULATION.
named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Chalkbeat
Local news brand focused on education reporting, covering issues such as school policy, classroom practices, and equity in education
Healthbeat
Local journalism initiative covering public health issues, though specific program details are not elaborated on the website
Votebeat
Nonpartisan local news project providing in-depth coverage of election integrity, voting laws, poll worker shortages, ballot counting, and election misinformation across multiple U.S. states
activities · 3 groups
What they do
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Nonprofit Investigative & Community Journalism 6 activities
- Distribute journalism to inform civic engagementProvides independently reported news to help the public understand American civic systems—including education, elections, and public health—with a focus on historically underserved communities. Content is distributed at no cost and supported by sponsorships and donations.
- Enable republishing of editorial content under licensing termsAllows third-party outlets to republish content from Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat under specified licensing terms, increasing reach and accessibility. Partnered with over 100 local and national news sites and 10 local outlets including radio stations.
- Inform policy and legislative debates through reportingChalkbeat’s reporting has influenced education funding, legislation, and policy; Votebeat’s journalism has informed state and federal legislative debates and prompted discussions among county officials on election protection and improvement.
- Launch and expand Healthbeat as a public health news outletLaunched Healthbeat in summer 2024 as a permanent newsroom focused on public health systems in New York City and Atlanta, covering issues such as infectious diseases, air and water quality, and food safety.
- Operate and publish nonprofit news outlets Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and HealthbeatProduces and distributes fact-based, nonpartisan journalism through three distinct newsrooms: Chalkbeat (education), Votebeat (election integrity), and Healthbeat (public health), all accessible at no cost to readers. Content is published without paywalls or user accounts.
- Produce and distribute election integrity journalismLaunched Votebeat as a pop-up newsroom in 2020 to cover election integrity in multiple states, publishing over 300 articles read by tens of thousands and used by voters to fact-check false claims about elections. The initiative transitioned into a permanent newsroom in 2022.
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Accept and manage donations and sponsorship revenueAccepts voluntary donations through third-party processors like News Revenue Hub and recognizes major financial supporters. As Vice President of Development, led fundraising efforts that grew annual revenue from $11 million to $30 million.
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Student and User Data Privacy & Security 1 activity
- Use audience analytics to inform editorial strategyEmploys Parse.ly analytics to track article performance, reader behavior, and topic trends, using insights to guide editorial decisions and improve website usability.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$10.18M
Contributions & grants$9.48M93%
Program service revenue$130K1%
Investment income$255K3%
Other revenue$306K
expenses
Total expenses$13.39M
Program expenses72%
Admin / overhead16%
Fundraising11%
Salaries & benefits$10.40M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$11.42M
Cash$887K
Investments$4.96M
Liabilities$797K
Net assets$10.62M
Liquid reserves5.2 mo
5 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -34.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 9
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELIZABETH GREEN | CO-FOUNDER AND CEO | 50 | $350K |
| ANDREW GOLIS | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | 50 | $263K |
| AMY ROSENBLUM CHIEF | REVENUE OFFICER THRU FEB 2025 | 40 | $248K |
| MATTHEW YABOR | SR. DIRECTOR, EARNED REVENUE | 40 | $209K |
| CARLOS JOHN ORTUNO | VP OF PHILANTHROPY | 40 | $195K |
| EBA HAMID | DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE | 40 | $164K |
| SARAH DARVILLE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | 40 | $159K |
| CAROLYN MELAGO MANAGING | EDITOR OF LOCAL NEWS, CHALKBEAT | 40 | $152K |
| SHANI HILTON | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | 40 | $121K |
board members · 8
- ANN SARDINI — TREASURER
- DAVID ROUSSEAU — DIRECTOR
- GIDEON STEIN — CHAIRPERSON
- JILL BARKIN — DIRECTOR
- KANG-XING JIN SECRETARY EFF — APR 2025 (DIRECTOR THRU APR 2025)
- KAREN WISHART — SECRETARY THRU APR 2025
- REBECCA VAN DYCK — DIRECTOR
- ROBERTO YANEZ — DIRECTOR
relationships · 34
Who they work with
- 10 local news outlets Partner — Collaborated with 10 local news outlets, including three radio stations, to edit and publish VoteBeat reporting.
- Aim High Partner — Collaborated on revenue strategy as part of Jon's work with organizations preparing to scale.
- American Journalism Project Network — Co-founded the American Journalism Project, a venture philanthropy firm dedicated to local news.
- Andrew Carnegie Foundation Funder — Financial supporter of Civic News Company
- Arc XP Partner — Hosts Civic News Company's websites and provides the digital publishing platform for content delivery.
- Bloomberg Philanthropies Funder — Financial supporter of Civic News Company
- Chalkbeat Network — One of the affiliated news organizations supported through shared funding with Civic News Company
- Chalkbeat Network — Subsidiary news organization under Civic News Company covering education reform and school improvement.
- Chalkbeat Partner — Civic News Company supports the journalism of Chalkbeat through fundraising.
- Chalkbeat Partner — One of three newsrooms overseen by Civic News Company.
- College Track Partner — Jon served as Vice President of Development, leading fundraising and revenue operations.
- Gates Foundation Funder — Financial supporter of Civic News Company
- Google Partner — Provides advertising and analytics services including Google Analytics, Ad Manager, and Tag Manager to measure traffic and manage ads.
- Healthbeat Network — One of the affiliated news organizations supported through shared funding with Civic News Company
- Healthbeat Network — Subsidiary news organization under Civic News Company reporting on public health systems in America.
- Healthbeat Partner — Civic News Company supports the journalism of Healthbeat through fundraising.
- Healthbeat Partner — One of three newsrooms overseen by Civic News Company.
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Funder — Financial supporter of Civic News Company
- KFF Health News Partner — Partnered with KFF Health News to launch Healthbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering public health.
- MacArthur Foundation Funder — Collaborated with the MacArthur Foundation to lead the Summit for Local News and contribute to the Press Forward initiative.
- Mailchimp Partner — Manages and sends email newsletters and tracks subscriber engagement for Civic News Company.
- Make-A-Wish Partner — Collaborated on revenue strategy as part of Jon's work with organizations preparing to scale.
- Math for America Partner — Sponsor of Chalkbeat that has seen increased website traffic through its sponsorship.
- Meta Partner — Provides Meta Pixel for measuring social media campaign effectiveness and tracking conversions from Facebook and Instagram.
- NYC Outward Bound Schools Partner — Sponsor of Chalkbeat with leadership citing alignment between its target audience and Chalkbeat readership.
- News Revenue Hub Partner — Processes donations on behalf of Civic News Company.
- News Revenue Hub Partner — Processes online donations and membership contributions on behalf of Civic News Company.
- Parse.ly Partner — Provides analytics on content readership and sharing patterns to inform editorial and product decisions.
- Raising a Reader Partner — Collaborated on revenue strategy as part of Jon's work with organizations preparing to scale.
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Funder — Financial supporter of Civic News Company
+ 4 more
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.
- Civic Impact–Oriented Journalismmethodology: civic-impact-oriented journalismBy measuring success through civic engagement outcomes—such as informed public debate and inspired civic action—we produce more meaningful journalism because it aligns editorial priorities with community impact rather than traffic or revenue metrics.
- Local-Experience-Rooted Journalismmethodology: local-experience-rooted journalismBy grounding reporting in the lived experiences of community members affected by systems like education, voting, and public health, we produce more relevant and trusted journalism because it centers authentic local voices and needs.
- Nonprofit Local News Model with Editorial Independencemethodology: nonprofit-local-news-modelBy operating as a nonprofit news organization that guarantees editorial independence through formal agreements, we produce trustworthy, community-focused journalism because it insulates reporting from donor influence while enabling sustainable funding.
- Pop-Up Newsroom for Timely Civic Coveragemethodology: pop-up_newsroomBy deploying temporary, targeted newsrooms to cover urgent civic issues in specific locations, we produce timely and nonpartisan reporting because it allows rapid response to emerging community information needs.