PLATINUM2023

The News Literacy Project

A future founded on facts

aka NLP   |   Washington, DC   |  https://newslit.org/

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GuideStar Charity Check

The News Literacy Project

EIN: 27-4011343


Mission

The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy.

Ruling year info

2011

CEO

Charles Salter

Main address

5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW Suite 440

Washington, DC 20015 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-4011343

Subject area info

Middle school education

Secondary education

Adult education

Journalism

School libraries and media centers

Show more subject areas

Population served info

Preteens

Adolescents

Adults

Students

Teachers

NTEE code info

Secondary/High School (B25)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The crisis of disinformation is an emergency, as it threatens the very fabric of our democracy. Too many people lack news literacy skills and do not think there is anything they can do about the flood of disinformation polluting our information landscape. Educating and empowering the individual to be more discerning consumers of news and information (news literacy) is foundational to strengthening our democratic society. News literacy helps people civically engage in more meaningful, authentic and empowering ways while also helping people hold news media accountable. In fact, news literacy is a precondition of a modern democratic society. But it’s not a panacea and must be accompanied by a holistic societal approach to the challenges of disinformation.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Checkology® virtual classroom

The Checkology virtual classroom (https://checkology.org/) is a free e-learning platform with engaging, authoritative lessons on subjects like news media bias, misinformation, conspiratorial thinking and more.

Learners develop the ability to identify credible information, seek out reliable sources and apply critical thinking skills to separate fact-based content from falsehoods.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Adults
Students
Teachers
Preteens

The Sift (https://newslit.org/educators/sift/), NLP’s free weekly newsletter for educators — delivered during the school year — explores timely examples of misinformation, addresses media and press freedom topics and discusses social media trends and issues. It also includes links, discussion prompts and activities for use in the classroom.

Population(s) Served
Teachers

The News Literacy Project’s professional learning (https://newslit.org/educators/professional-learning/) emphasizes teaching educators essential news literacy concepts they can integrate into the curriculum to provide their students with the abilities, knowledge and confidence to navigate an increasingly complex and ever-changing information landscape.

We offer compelling interactive workshops, on site or via webinar, for educators from a variety of subject area and grade levels, including librarians and technology/media specialists.

Whether you are new to the field of news literacy or want to expand the ways you integrate it into your curriculum, our professional learning offerings can meet your needs.

Population(s) Served
Teachers

Modeled on The Sift newsletter for educators, Get Smart About News (https://newslit.org/get-smart-newsletters/) is our new free newsletter designed for the general public. It explores timely examples of misinformation, addresses media and press freedom topics and discusses social media trends and issues.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Adolescents
Preteens

RumorGuard curates real-world examples of viral misinformation and provides a concise summary of published fact-checks, making clear for readers exactly what is true and is not. The site goes beyond traditional fact-checking efforts by also walking users through the process of evaluating how and why a rumor might be false. Each RumorGuard post takes readers through the facts behind a specific viral rumor, then breaks down the five factors that can be used to verify any claim: authenticity, source, evidence, context and reasoning.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Adolescents
Preteens

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students registered for online courses

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Students, Adolescents

Related Program

Checkology® virtual classroom

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our vision: News literacy is an integral part of American life, and people of all ages and backgrounds know how to identify credible news and other information and understand the indispensable role a free press has in a democracy, empowering them to play a more equal and active role in the civic life of the country.

Education Engagement: NLP will support and influence the emerging media literacy movement by promoting news literacy – teaching students how to think about news and information, not what to think – and by partnering with educators, administrators and policymakers to fuel a national movement in education that achieves necessary systemic change and prepares students of all backgrounds for active civic life.

Civic Engagement: NLP will raise the awareness and practice of news literacy all across the country – creating the social change in public thinking much like previous campaigns targeting littering, smoking and drunk driving – and empowering people to actively and collectively push back against the spread of disinformation.

Sustainability: NLP will demonstrate its programmatic effectiveness through a robust learning agenda and be financially supported at levels that enable the organization to continue to invest in talent and the innovative resource development needed to sustain the movement. To bolster this sustainability, NLP will also call on leaders in social media, news media, academia and corporate and philanthropic circles to play an active role in strengthening the national effort to combat disinformation.

NLP has been at the forefront of news literacy education since founder Alan Miller left the Los Angeles Times, where he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, to start NLP in 2008. Our staff members have backgrounds in fields such as education, journalism, communications and law, bringing diverse skills and perspectives together in a dedicated effort to provide engaging news literacy education on a widespread scale.

Since 2016, more than 345,000 students have used NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom, and the organization has engaged over 50,000 educators in all 50 states and more than 120 other countries. All told, educators using NLP resources and programs in the last year reached an estimated 2 million students.

NLP is poised to take on a more significant national presence as more school districts begin requiring news literacy education and as it continues to expand its work to reach adults. This strategic direction will enable NLP and its staff to focus on teaching people of all ages the news literacy skills they need to fully engage in the civic life of our country in meaningful and informed ways.

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

11.20

Average of 14.27 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

6.2

Average of 7 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

17%

Average of 14% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

The News Literacy Project

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

The News Literacy Project

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

The News Literacy Project

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of The News Literacy Project’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

Created in partnership with

Business model indicators

Profitability info 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation $453,994 $1,307,153 -$365,215 $1,343,331 $1,631,058
As % of expenses 26.3% 38.5% -9.7% 31.9% 31.7%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation $394,274 $1,248,870 -$492,466 $1,126,553 $1,334,973
As % of expenses 22.1% 36.2% -12.6% 25.4% 24.5%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $2,869,247 $9,385,705 $2,474,259 $4,605,501 $5,070,663
Total revenue, % change over prior year 105.2% 0.0% -73.6% 86.1% 10.1%
Program services revenue 0.9% 1.2% 9.0% 0.3% 0.6%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 0.3% 0.3% 1.8% 0.4% 1.0%
Government grants 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 7.8% 8.4%
All other grants and contributions 98.8% 100.6% 89.2% 91.4% 89.9%
Other revenue 0.0% -2.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $1,725,520 $3,392,720 $3,767,042 $4,215,075 $5,151,601
Total expenses, % change over prior year 41.7% 0.0% 11.0% 11.9% 22.2%
Personnel 63.5% 68.0% 78.2% 80.0% 75.0%
Professional fees 19.3% 7.3% 5.4% 5.6% 9.2%
Occupancy 1.0% 2.2% 1.9% 1.7% 1.4%
Interest 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 16.2% 22.5% 14.5% 12.7% 14.4%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total expenses (after depreciation) $1,785,240 $3,451,003 $3,894,293 $4,431,853 $5,447,686
One month of savings $143,793 $282,727 $313,920 $351,256 $429,300
Debt principal payment $0 $0 $0 $0 $402,500
Fixed asset additions $0 $233,759 $275,568 $374,790 $615,117
Total full costs (estimated) $1,929,033 $3,967,489 $4,483,781 $5,157,899 $6,894,603

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022
Months of cash 11.7 10.9 8.1 6.3 6.2
Months of cash and investments 11.7 10.9 9.7 7.9 8.6
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets 3.0 7.8 6.1 8.3 8.2
Balance sheet composition info 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022
Cash $1,687,947 $3,073,020 $2,531,974 $2,218,219 $2,682,733
Investments $0 $0 $497,849 $572,085 $995,418
Receivables $170,200 $4,914,442 $3,634,453 $4,054,061 $2,063,892
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $324,444 $630,924 $905,426 $1,279,149 $1,893,199
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 46.7% 10.1% 21.0% 31.7% 37.0%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 4.0% 3.2% 7.2% 8.3% 4.7%
Unrestricted net assets $602,084 $2,759,006 $2,266,540 $3,393,093 $4,728,066
Temporarily restricted net assets $1,365,663 $5,536,813 N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets $0 $0 N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $1,365,663 $5,536,813 $4,590,781 $3,700,419 $1,906,678
Total net assets $1,967,747 $8,295,819 $6,857,321 $7,093,512 $6,634,744

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022
Material data errors No No No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

CEO

Charles Salter

Charles (Chuck) Salter joined the News Literacy Project as chief operating officer in 2018 and was named president and chief operating officer in 2019. He became NLP’s CEO on July 1, 2022. Prior to joining the team, he spent nearly two decades working in the education space – particularly to advance opportunity in under-resourced communities – as a teacher, school leader, teachers union president and as a senior executive with several national education organizations, including: Teach For America in California, New York and Nevada; the Bay Area After-School All-Stars in California; and as regional director, vice president and superintendent of schools with Lighthouse Academies, a national nonprofit charter management organization, where he managed a group of 6 schools outside of Chicago that enrolled more than 2,200 students. Before NLP, he was president and chief operating officer of BUILD Inc., a national youth entrepreneurship organization.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

The News Literacy Project

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

The News Literacy Project

Highest paid employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of highest paid employee data for this organization

The News Literacy Project

Board of directors
as of 08/03/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Greg McCaffery

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/24/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Contractors

Fiscal year ending
There are no fundraisers recorded for this organization.