The News Literacy Project
A future founded on facts
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
2011
CEO
Charles Salter
Main address
5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015 USA
EIN
27-4011343
Middle school education
Secondary education
Journalism
Information and media literacy
Democracy
Population served
Adolescents
Adults
Students
Teachers
NTEE code
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
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
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
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.
The Sift®
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.
Professional Learning
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.
Get Smart About News®
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.
RumorGuard
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.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
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
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
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.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
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.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
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.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
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.
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2020 info
12.44
Months of cash in 2020 info
8.1
Fringe rate in 2020 info
18%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
The News Literacy Project
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The News Literacy Project
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
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: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
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.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $35,502 | -$104,629 | $453,994 | $1,307,153 | -$365,215 |
| As % of expenses | 3.0% | -8.6% | 26.3% | 38.5% | -9.7% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $14,349 | -$163,282 | $394,274 | $1,248,870 | -$492,466 |
| As % of expenses | 1.2% | -12.8% | 22.1% | 36.2% | -12.6% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $1,203,907 | $1,398,355 | $2,869,247 | $9,385,705 | $2,474,259 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | -1.3% | 16.2% | 105.2% | 0.0% | -73.6% |
| Program services revenue | 8.1% | 10.4% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 9.0% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1.8% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other grants and contributions | 91.4% | 89.4% | 98.8% | 100.6% | 89.2% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | -2.0% | 0.0% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $1,202,221 | $1,217,930 | $1,725,520 | $3,392,720 | $3,767,042 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 5.7% | 1.3% | 41.7% | 0.0% | 11.0% |
| Personnel | 83.5% | 75.8% | 63.5% | 68.0% | 78.2% |
| Professional fees | 7.6% | 9.7% | 19.3% | 7.3% | 5.4% |
| Occupancy | 0.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
| 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 | 8.9% | 13.5% | 16.2% | 22.5% | 14.5% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $1,223,374 | $1,276,583 | $1,785,240 | $3,451,003 | $3,894,293 |
| One month of savings | $100,185 | $101,494 | $143,793 | $282,727 | $313,920 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $233,759 | $275,568 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $1,573,559 | $1,378,077 | $1,929,033 | $3,967,489 | $4,483,781 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 5.3 | 5.5 | 11.7 | 10.9 | 8.1 |
| Months of cash and investments | 5.3 | 5.5 | 11.7 | 10.9 | 9.7 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 1.1 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $531,303 | $555,770 | $1,687,947 | $3,073,020 | $2,531,974 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $497,849 |
| Receivables | $42,655 | $174,888 | $170,200 | $4,914,442 | $3,634,453 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $293,265 | $293,265 | $324,444 | $630,924 | $905,426 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 11.6% | 31.6% | 46.7% | 10.1% | 21.0% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 9.2% | 6.4% | 4.0% | 3.2% | 7.2% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $371,092 | $207,810 | $602,084 | $2,759,006 | $2,266,540 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $390,876 | $675,930 | $1,365,663 | $5,536,813 | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $390,876 | $675,930 | $1,365,663 | $5,536,813 | $4,590,781 |
| Total net assets | $761,968 | $883,740 | $1,967,747 | $8,295,819 | $6,857,321 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
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 employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
The News Literacy Project
Highest paid employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
The News Literacy Project
Board of directorsas of 01/24/2023
Board of directors data
Greg McCaffery
Board leadership practices
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
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Contractors
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- Officer and/or Employee data for 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015
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