Alternative Newsweekly Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300100369
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-T 2021
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
6087720693
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Censorship, Freedom of Speech and Press

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,286,232
Expenses
$3,870,070
Assets
$2,777,760
Liabilities
$13,005

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN GOLDBERG (PRESIDENT)
  • GRAHAM JARRETT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELLEN MEANY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELLEN MEANY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & SECRETARY): $73,545 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The alternative newsweekly foundation is dedicated to the promotion and support of independent journalism.anf serves as a fiscal sponsor to organizations that are building and sustaining news and information infrastructure across the country.as part of its affiliation with aan publishers (aan.org), anf supports the professional development of journalists and connects young journalists with mentors.anf works side by side with aan to support the core principles of the alternative press: speaking truth to power, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, and giving voice to those who would otherwise go unheard.

What it reported doing in 2024

Alta: altavoz lab, a fiscally sponsored project of anf, is an independent news organization that mentors, trains and uplifts local reporters to produce impactful and collaborative accountability and service-oriented reporting projects at outlets serving historically disinvested communities across the u.s. Alta has not yet spent all of its grant funding.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 62% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $104.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 40.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 57.1% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 54.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.9% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 11 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $662K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 70 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 69 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.