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HIGHLANDS CURRENT INC
COLD SPRING, NY · EIN 454403312 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE A33 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Small ($100K-$1M) · highlandscurrent.org
revenue
$697K
expenses
$688K
net assets
$822K
employees
7
volunteers
26
program ratio
74%
mission · from form 990

TO BE A TRUSTED INDEPENDENT AND NONPARTISAN SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON TOPICS OF IMPORTANCE TO OUR HUDSON HIGHLANDS COMMUNITIES. THROUGH BOTH OUR PRINT EDITION, THE HIGHLANDS CURRENT, AND OUR WEBSITE, HIGHLANDSCURRENT.ORG, WE SEEK TO PROVIDE A VITAL FORUM FOR WIDE-RANGING VIEWS AND TO REFLECT THE DIVERSE INTERESTS, CONCERNS AND EXPERIENCES OF OUR READERS.

profile · synthesized from sources

Independent nonprofit news organization serving the Hudson Highlands region of New York. Publishes the print and online edition of the Highlands Current, providing local journalism on community issues, government, environment, and culture. Focuses on in-depth reporting, investigative stories, and community engagement for residents of Cold Spring, Beacon, and surrounding areas.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

Community Coverage
Reports on local government, education, arts, and culture through regular news stories, columns, and photojournalism focused on Cold Spring, Beacon, and Philipstown.
Investigative Reporting
Produces in-depth series on local issues such as government ethics, environmental challenges, and public health, including award-winning projects like "Beyond the Grid" and "Talking Trash".
Student Journalists Program
Trains and publishes work by high school students, providing mentorship and real-world journalism experience.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Nonprofit Investigative & Community Journalism 1 activity
    • Community engagement and opinion reporting
      Conducts ongoing community engagement initiatives, including feature reporting on residents’ opinions about local topics, and publishes explanatory and investigative journalism series on issues such as education-related anxiety, waste management, recycling challenges, and environmental impacts like trail overuse.
  • Organizational Newsletter Production and Distribution 1 activity
    • Distribution of free email news updates
      Provides free weekly email updates to subscribers containing links to published stories and early access to the digital PDF version of The Highlands Current every Friday morning, expanding accessibility to community members beyond paid members.
  • Membership Program Administration 1 activity
    • Member-supported funding model with print and digital benefits
      Operates a membership program launched in 2019 that serves as the primary financial support mechanism, offering members digital access to the weekly PDF edition via email and optional print edition mail delivery. Sustaining members donating $120 or more annually receive print delivery at no additional cost, while others may pay $36 annually to cover postage and delivery expenses.
  • Paid Internships in Media & Publishing 1 activity
    • Student Journalists Program
      Runs a capacity-building Student Journalists Program that mentors high school students from Beacon and Philipstown as paid correspondents, providing them with opportunities to attend editorial meetings, receive mentorship from professional editors and reporters, submit multimedia content, and publish their work in both print and digital formats, with a focus on high schools and youth-related issues.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Provision of civic resource information
      Offers a publicly accessible resource guide listing contact information for local, county, and national officials serving the Philipstown and Beacon areas, supporting civic engagement and access to government services.
    • Publication of a weekly print and digital newspaper
      Produces and distributes a weekly print newspaper, The Highlands Current, to the communities of Philipstown and Beacon, New York, including Cold Spring, Nelsonville, Garrison, North Highlands, and Continental Village, via local merchant drop-off points and mail delivery to members. Also provides digital access through email distribution of PDF editions and maintains the website highlandscurrent.org as a platform for publishing local news.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$697K
Contributions & grants$453K65%
Program service revenue$43K6%
Investment income$30K4%
Other revenue$170K
expenses
Total expenses$688K
Program expenses74%
Admin / overhead19%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$326K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$848K
Cash$30K
Investments$735K
Liabilities$27K
Net assets$822K
Liquid reserves13.3 mo
5 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +12.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 14
  • CHRISTINE BOCKELMANN — CO-CHAIRPERSON
  • DAMON BANKS — DIRECTOR
  • DAVID DUFFY — DIRECTOR
  • FRANCIS REILLY — DIRECTOR
  • JIA JIA YE — DIRECTOR
  • JOSEPH T PLUMMER — VICE CHAIRPERSON
  • KYLE GOOD — DIRECTOR
  • MEL LAYTNER — SECRETARY
  • NICHOLAS GROOMBRIDGE — TREASURER
  • ROBERT K LANIER — DIRECTOR
  • SCOTT TILLITT — DIRECTOR
  • TODD HASKELL — CO-CHAIRPERSON
  • WILLIAM L FELDER — DIRECTOR
  • YASLYN DANIELS — DIRECTOR
relationships · 24

Who they work with

  • Art in General Partner — Board member Yaslyn Daniels served for five years on the board of the nonprofit Art in General, indicating a sustained organizational relationship.
  • Beacon Network — Primary geographic focus for news coverage and community engagement.
  • Beacon City School District Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • BeaconArts Partner — Board member Scott Tillitt served on the board of BeaconArts, indicating a leadership-level organizational connection.
  • Butterfield Library Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • City Hall, Beacon Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • Desmond-Fish Public Library Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • Garrison Art Center Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • Highlands Current Inc Network — Member organization supporting independent journalism in the community.
  • Howland Public Library Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • Institute for Nonprofit News Network — Member organization that sets editorial independence standards followed by Highlands Current Inc.
  • Institute for Nonprofit News Network — National membership network of nonprofit news organizations where HIGHLANDS CURRENT INC has been recognized.
  • LION Publishers Network — Membership organization for independent online news publishers where HIGHLANDS CURRENT INC has received recognition.
  • NYP/Hudson Valley Hospital Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • National Newspaper Association Network — Member organization recognizing journalistic excellence in weekly and small-market newspapers.
  • New York News Publishers Association Network — Member organization honoring achievements in news publishing across New York state.
  • New York Press Association Network — Member organization receiving awards for journalistic work.
  • New York State Attorney General Government — Complies with and provides financial reports to the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.
  • Philipstown Network — Primary geographic focus for news coverage and community engagement.
  • Riverkeeper Partner — Board member Nicholas Groombridge serves on the board of Riverkeeper, indicating a leadership-level connection.
  • The Trust Project Network — Member of The Trust Project consortium since September 2020, adhering to its credibility standards.
  • The Trust Project Network — Member of The Trust Project, a consortium of news outlets with shared standards for journalistic credibility.
  • U.S. Post Office, Beacon Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
  • U.S. Post Office, Garrison Partner — Hosts a blue box for print distribution of The Current.
strategies · 3

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.

  • Community-Centered Journalism with Diverse Voices
    methodology: community-centered_journalism
    By centering community voices and incorporating diverse viewpoints in reporting, the organization produces more nuanced stories and deeper community understanding, because inclusion across race, class, generation, gender, and geography strengthens the quality and relevance of local journalism.
  • Reader-Funded, Independent Journalism Model
    methodology: reader-funded_journalism
    By relying on reader-funded memberships and enforcing an editorial firewall, the organization sustains nonpartisan journalism and maintains public trust, because financial independence from advertisers and donors protects editorial integrity and aligns content with community needs rather than commercial interests.
  • Youth Journalism Mentorship for Capacity Building
    methodology: paid_mentorship_in_journalism
    By training high school students through paid, mentored journalism roles, the organization builds next-generation reporting capacity and strengthens community storytelling, because hands-on professional experience fosters skill development and long-term engagement in civic media.