The Tiny News Collective Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853963369
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2025990229
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,581,747
Expenses
$3,798,094
Assets
$6,396,418
Liabilities
$86,344

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Amy Kovac Ashley (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Amy Kovac Ashley (Executive Director): $186,539 total reported compensation
  • Erica Beshears Perel (Business Operations Director): $122,197 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We provide the tools, resources and commonwealth of knowledge to help people build sustainable news organizations that reflect and serve their communities. We support voices historically excluded from media and media ownership.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, Tiny News Collective supported a growing number of small and early-stage media entrepreneurs with coaching, infrastructure and shared services. Primary programs focused on fiscal sponsorship to members and clients, and member services, tech support and consulting to new and existing members, as well as monthly collective calls, workshops and open office hours. TNC worked on research and development projects related to advertising and a data/metrics program specifically for small and early stage news media entrepreneurs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 76% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 34th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.1%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 48.7% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 49.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.8% of revenue deployed · 89.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $187K · 7 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $126K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 50 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 48 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.