Center for Austin Independent Journalism

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841828337
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5129221431
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$644,206
Expenses
$342,940
Assets
$455,760
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Alberta Phillips (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Andrew Wheat (Managing Editor): $70,000 total reported compensation
  • Alberta Phillips (Executive Director): $60,400 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To equip Austinites to make informed decisions through independent, in-depth reporting, diverse opinions, and civil dialogue. A strong local press is essential for a healthy community and democracy. We work to make Austin a more empowered and connected community. People across the city must be heard, informed, and able to participate in discussions and decisions that affect our common future. Confident, empowered citizens are better prepared to solve our problems and to hold city leaders accountable to us, their constituents.

What it reported doing in 2025

Austin Free Press is an independent, nonprofit news organization serving the Austin area. Its mission is to deliver bold, community-driven reporting with a focus on equity, affordability, and government transparency. In its reporting, AFP examines and investigates the policies and decisions of public officials and institutions, documents both problems and potential solutions, and reports on transparency and accountability in local governments. Our coverage areas include health, environment, housing, social justice, and underserved communities. We cover issues differently than other media by telling stories that others don't or won't regarding communities of color, lower-income residents, LGBTQ+ persons, children, older adults, and other marginalized communities. Editorial decisions follow the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics and are made independently of advertiser and donor influence. AFP includes the perspectives of both residents and policymakers in its coverage. AFP also supports the next generation of journalists through its Enterprise Journalism Training Program, developed in partnership with Huston-Tillotson University, Austin's only Historically Black University. Our public service journalism includes our Government Accountability Project (GAP), a free, searchable public database that puts official records at the fingertips of anyone with an internet connection.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.9%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $515.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 46.8%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 38%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 101.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 62.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.9% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $308K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.